Youths found selling snake venom

Srikakulam: A group of youth are illegally extracting venom from cobras in the district and selling them to pharma companies who use it to develop antidotes.

Police sources said the snake catchers are aged below 20 years and have been spotted operating in areas where the state government's Neeru-Chettu and National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) programmes are being undertaken. The NREGS and Neeru-Chettu works include removal of bushes and ant-hills which reveal the snake hideouts.

On Wednesday, the three were found catching cobras at KK Rajapuram, Neelampeta and few other hamlets in Burja mandal falling under Palakonda forest range by the villagers. Speaking to TOI, one of the villagers, who interacted with the youth, said the snake catchers claimed they hailed from Khammam district in Telangana.

"They extract the venom from the snakes with the help of a syringe. They sell the venom to those interested for Rs 4,000 to Rs 5,000 per syringe," the villager said, adding that these youth can be rehabilitated into an alternative profession with the help of the government.

When contacted, Srikakulam district forest officer in-charge Lohitaswadu confirmed that a group was illegally catching scheduled wildlife creatures against the rules of the Wildlife Protection Act.

Extracting venom from snakes is against the rules, the forest officer said. "We will intercept them and take appropriate action. We will also counsel them about the importance of conservation of wildlife," Lohitaswadu said. Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation's (GVMC) authorised snake catcher Rokkam Kiran Kumar, popularly known as 'Snake' Kiran, said 20 drops or half syringe of venom can be extracted from a cobra. The cobra's venom is used by pharma companies. "A litre of cobra venom costs Rs 18 crore in the international market as per my knowledge," Kiran said.