Karnataka forest ranges to have trained staff for snake rescue: Minister Eshwar Khandre

Hubballi: Minister for Forest, Ecology and Environment Eshwar Khandre has issued instructions to Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) to ensure that all the forest ranges in the state have at least four to five trained forest staff to rescue snakes.

In a note issued to the PCCF, the minister stated that the department should provide training to interested field staff in rescuing of snakes.

The order comes on the back drop of Deccan Herald’s recent report of how forest officials of Bhadravathi had to wait for private snake handler to rescue three Indian Rock Pythons and two cobras that were illegally confined at a house of a self-styled snake rescuer Mohammad Irfan. Irfan had taped and captured the snake and kept them in plastic bags.

Bhadravati Deputy Conservator of Forest Ravindra Kumar had said that they had to wait for private snake handler as his ground staffs were not well-versed with handling snakes. Similar situation is prevalent across the state and has resulted in several self-declared snake handlers to misuse the situation and even make snake rescue a business model.

The minister has also instructed the PCCF to ensure that hence forth even the handling of King Cobra, a Scheduled-I species protected under of Wildlife Protection Act of 1972, by private handlers in Malnad region should be done only under the presence of forest department and with approval from the department. Recently, the forest officials had arrested two natives of Maharashtra, who were trying to illegally transport a King Cobra, captured in Kodagu, to Maharashtra so that the snake can be used for captive photographing.

“While rescue of king cobras from houses and agriculture fields should be done by forest staff itself, in case of non-availability of staff, the private registered snake handlers should rescue only after getting approval and in presence of senior forest officials,” the minister’s note stated.