Odisha issues guidelines for rescue and release of snakes by handlers
The Odisha government's Forest, Environment, and Climate Change Department has issued a set of guidelines for the rescue and release of snakes from human-inhabited areas.
user1
Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government's Forest, Environment, and Climate Change Department has issued a set of guidelines for the rescue and release of snakes from human-inhabited areas.
Letters have been sent to the Additional Special Relief Commissioner, the PCCF of the Forest Department, the PCCF of the Wildlife Division, the Managing Director of OSDMA, and all RCCFs, Collectors, and DFOs in this regard.
According to the new guidelines, only certified snake handlers can participate in the rescue and release operations, and they must strictly follow the protocols, failing which they will face penalties under the Wildlife (Protection) Act of 1972.
The intervention to save snakes will take place only when their presence poses a risk to human life, such as when they are discovered indoors or close to human habitation. Snake rescue should be limited to cases in which snakes have entered human dwellings, regardless of whether they are venomous or non-venomous.
It went on to say that these handlers are volunteers and will not be paid by the Odisha Forest Department, which may also use their services to raise awareness among the local population about the ecological importance of snakes, how to identify snakes, and how to avoid snakebites.
Anyone who obstructs a certified snake handler's efforts during a rescue operation may face legal consequences. Creating public panic, publicly displaying the rescued snake(s), or engaging in any other form of public display involving snakes, even if done by the snake handler, will result in legal consequences.
Notably, for the last five years, Odisha has seen 1,000 snakebite deaths per year. Snakebite incidents have claimed at least 34 lives this year, including three children in Keonjhar.
