Snake rescue volunteers flay Forest department over lack of support

A section of certified snake rescue volunteers enrolled in the State’s ‘Sarpa Mitra’ network in rural areas of Kozhikode district have registered a strong protest against the Forest department, alleging a lack of adequate administrative and logistical support to continue their work.

The volunteers, mainly those operating under the Thamarassery forest range, allege that the Forest department has stopped collecting rescued snakes from them. They say they are now forced to bear the cost of transporting the rescued snakes to range offices themselves to complete the legal formalities.

The volunteers point out that they undertake snake rescue as a service while doing other odd jobs for a living. They say they receive no additional income or grant from the government for the work. According to them, spending money out of their own pockets to transport rescued snakes for release is hardly a viable option.