NEW DELHI, INDIA, August 11, 2002: Naag Panchami, a festival for the worship of snakes, is gradually becoming the cause of their death. Snakes are often captured in suffocating bags, kept in tiny dark boxes, and given no food or water so that they can drink the milk offered on the holy day which falls this year on August 13. The milk offered to snakes often results in severe diseases and allergic reactions — possibly because so much milk sold in India is adulterated. Snakes can also be blinded when the tikka applied to their hoods during the worship gets into their eyes. Added to this is the problem created by people who kill the snakes to sell their skins. “The festival has always left behind a trail of dead and mutilated cobras. Nowhere have we heard of many snakes being killed on one occasion,” according to naturalist Vijay Awsare. Appealing to people to help in saving the snakes, People For The Ethical Treatment Of Animals (PETA) has drawn attention to the security offered by Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, and the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, which also lay down provisions for punitive action against those indulging in cruelty. The Bombay High court has banned exhibition and procession of snakes in Battis Shirala village in western Maharashtra during the festival, following a public interest litigation filed by two environmental organizations.
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