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STOP ANIMAL CRUELTY
In Cold Blood: The Scandalous Slaying of Snakes
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The images in the
following program
are highly sensitive
and may be
as disturbing to viewers
as they were to us.
However, we have to
show the truth about
cruelty to animals,
praying that you will help
to stop it.
This is
Stop Animal Cruelty
on Supreme Master
Television.
This week we examine
the brutal treatment and
killing of snakes by
the exotic skin, pet and
entertainment industries.
Snakes may be one of
the most misunderstood
and mistreated species
on Earth.
Some people have
a fear of snakes, but
it simply isn’t warranted.
Snakes are very shy and
always prefer to avoid
contact with humans.
Some people try to kill
snakes because they think
they are dangerous
and aggressive.
But neither of
these perceptions is true.
According to the State
of Texas Department
of Health in the US,
the chances of death from
a venomous snakebite
are considerably less
than dying from
a lightning strike.
And actually,
snakes aren’t aggressive.
If you stand on him, or
if you’re trying to catch
him, he will retaliate.
But they’re not aggressive.
And I think that’s quite
important to remember.
Every year millions of
these innocent beings
are slain.
More than 450 species of
snakes are currently on
the International Union
for Conservation of
Nature's (IUCN) Red List
of Threatened Species.
It is often
mistakenly believed that
snake skin products are
made from molted skin;
that is, skin
naturally shed by snakes
as they grow.
However this is untrue
as such skin is too fragile
and dull in color to be
used to make items.
In recent years
an upward trend
in the production of
snake skin handbags,
shoes and clothing
has occurred, with
the python being used
more and more often
for this purpose.
The reticulated python, a
native of Southeast Asia,
is the longest snake
in the world, reaching up
to nine meters in length.
The number of
python deaths worldwide
due to the leather trade is
difficult to estimate, but
is likely in the millions.
Between 1995 and 1998,
4.5 million pythons,
both alive and skinned,
were exported from
one Southeast Asian
country alone.
Other commonly
exploited snakes include
salt and fresh water snakes,
cobras, rat snakes,
kraits and anacondas.
To feed this
senseless industry,
countless snakes are
captured in the wild.
For a large snake such as
a python, a hose may be
inserted into her mouth,
and her soft
and tender body
pumped full of water
to loosen her skin.
The snake’s head is then
impaled on a nail
or a meat hook.
Her belly is slit open
from throat to tail
with a sharp knife,
and her skin is ripped off
her body while she is
still fully conscious and
writhing in extreme pain.
The skinned snake is then
thrown by the wayside,
where she dies a slow,
excruciating death of
shock and dehydration.
According to People
for the Ethical Treatment
of Animals founder
Ingrid Newkirk's book
“Making Kind Choices”
some of these snakes
may be alive even
three days after skinning.
Other snakes are
viciously trapped
for the pet industry.
Wildlife trafficking
in endangered reptiles is
big business globally and
this deleterious activity
only serves to diminish
the numbers of
threatened snakes
in their native habitats.
Savage methods used to
capture snakes include
stunning them, grabbing
them with sharp hooks,
and dousing
snake burrows with
gasoline or chemicals
so that the snakes quickly
exit their homes,
sometimes incurring
lethal injuries
in the process.
They are then transported
long distances inside
small, filthy crates and
many of them die
from sicknesses,
temperature extremes,
suffocation, hunger, or
thirst before reaching
their destination.
At the pet shop they may
have their fangs removed
or their venomous sacks
punctured before being
sold, causing the reptile
immense trauma.
Once purchased, a snake
is doomed to endure
a horrific life of captivity,
imprisoned inside a cage
in a totally unnatural
setting.
An equally appalling
practice is using snakes
for entertainment.
One of the deeply
entrenched traditions
in India is
“snake charming.”
Alan Knight is the chief
executive of International
Animal Rescue,
a UK-based non-profit
animal welfare group that
aids suffering animals
around the world
by saving them from
unfavorable situations
and re-homing them
in caring sanctuaries or
back into their
natural environments,
depending on their fitness.
He has spent
extensive time in India
working with
the non-governmental
organization
Wildlife SOS – India
to safeguard animals,
particularly
the Moon bear, and now
tell us more about
this heartless custom.
Wherever you go in India
and there are tourists
around, then
the snake charming, is
something that everybody
wants to see and
become involved with.
And this is the cobra
in the basket.
You have a guy who’s
playing his flute and
the cobra comes out.
All that cobra’s doing is
he is looking at the end
of the flute,
and he is moving
backwards and forwards.
So maybe it’s red
like this, and actually
that’s what
he is following.
He is not being
aggressive.
He is not trying to do
anything other than just
be inquisitive
and look at that.
But unfortunately these
cobras have been caught
in the wild.
They have their fangs
removed, usually
by pulling them out.
So we’re in a situation
where these people are
using them and making
themselves look like
they’re very brave.
And actually what
they are, are cowards.
They’ve taken the fangs
out of the animal.
The animal is defenseless.
And what they’re doing
is abusing her
in order to get money.
The removal of fangs,
which is comparable to
the extraction of
human teeth, is done
without any anesthetic,
causing the snake
severe pain and suffering.
Many snakes cannot
eat or drink
after this is done to them.
And cobras are not
the only species of snake
to fall victim to
the snake charmer trade.
So, the snake charmers
will actually just have
one or two pythons,
as well as the cobra.
The cobra brings
the people in, and then
the people will handle
a python.
But the python,
in order to stop them
biting the people
or the handler, will
tie the mouth together
with rope.
So the animal
won’t be able to eat or
won’t be able to drink
for the period
that it’s in captivity.
That could go on
for six months,
and then the animal
will actually die.
So, it’s a long,
hard suffering
for these animals, and
it’s something that
we want to eradicate.
And that’s one of
my goals
for the next 10 years, is
to really concentrate and
try to get rid of all the
snake charmers in India.
How many snakes are
stolen from their homes
each year to satisfy the
snake charming industry?
In terms of snakes and
the numbers used
in this industry,
I would say hundreds of
thousands of snakes
each year are
trapped and used
in snake charming.
And basically if people
on holiday in India could
just say they don’t want
to see these snakes, and
not give them money,
there would be a huge
reduction in that number.
So hundreds of thousands
of snakes are being
abused every day, and
that’s a real worry.
One of the reasons that
this heinous tradition
continues today is that
many snake charmers
believe that they have
no other options
for earning a living.
We have a similar position
where we employ
snake charmers
on our bear sanctuaries
to build mud huts
for the people who
look after the bears.
And generally,
there’s always something
they can do.
Instead of using
the snakes to actually
entertain people,
why not act as a service
and go out
(and show people)
how to handle a snake.
You can go in and
rescue them from
people’s houses, and
charge them a small fee
to do that, and then
release them in the wild.
So, I’m quite hopeful that
that can change in India
as well.
Fortunately, India’s
Wildlife Protection Act
makes it illegal to injure,
catch or own snakes.
And this law has enabled
Mr. Knight’s organization
to take action.
We help Wildlife SOS
in India, and basically
what they’re saying is,
you should be in a position
to really help us, actually
rid the whole of India
of snake charming.
I mean the law is there.
The law is on our side.
We can actually
arrest people and
take animals away.
And that’s what we want
to do, because we’re
in a situation where,
if they stay in the hands
of snake charmers,
they’ll just go through
prolonged suffering,
and we don’t want that.
So what we do is,
we have a no-tolerance
procedure with this.
We will basically,
if we see somebody
with a snake,
we’ll go ahead and we’ll
take the snake away.
These fangs, luckily,
grow back.
So if we put them through
a small rehabilitation,
within three to four weeks,
we have the fangs
showing through again.
And so we’ll release them.
We quite often use
the areas around
our bear sanctuaries
to release them.
How can we learn to
live in greater harmony,
not only with snakes,
but with all animals?
I think the only way
forward is to live
side by side with animals,
to actually not eat them,
which I think
is quite a good start.
And there are hundreds
of thousands of people
living that ethic.
But as (India) gets
more commercialized,
and more Western, they
believe, part of the deal
is you should eat meat.
And I’m spending
an awful lot of time
trying to convince them
not to.
So there are still
huge areas of India that
are totally vegetarian,
which is really rewarding
for me as well.
Alan Knight, we thank
you and all others
who work diligently and
courageously to
protect the precious lives
of our innocent
animal co-inhabitants and
thereby create a world
of greater harmony.
Your efforts are a shining
example of love in action,
and we wish you
every success in your
future noble endeavors.
For more details
on the International
Animal Rescue,
please visit:
www.InternationalAnimalRescue.org
Thank you,
gracious viewers for
your thoughtful presence
today on our program.
Enlightening
Entertainment
is coming up next,
after Noteworthy News.
May all beings enjoy
long, harmonious,
and peaceful lives
in a vegan world.
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