Challenges in rescuing snakes to protect human lives and promote snake conservation in Tamil Nadu, India

Background: Human-snake conflicts are common worldwide, often resulting in snakebites. Snakebite envenoming causes over 125,000 deaths and 400,000 permanent disabilities worldwide every year. India alone accounts for an average of ~58,000 annual snakebite-induced deaths. As human developments rapidly expand into suburban and rural areas, snakes are being displaced and incidences of residents finding snakes within their dwellings are increasing. Most people have an innate fear of snakes, compounded by centuries of negative influence from culture and mythology manifesting in people often attempting to kill snakes. Snake rescuers are volunteers who remove and relocate snakes to safe areas. This is a risky job that poses potentially fatal implications if bitten. These volunteers mostly receive no financial compensation for their time or transportation costs, but they choose to do it for their love of snakes, conservation, and for the altruistic nature of helping others. Snake rescuers often receive no formal training and are unfunded resulting in removing snakes improperly without adequate safety equipment or the required skill set to safely complete the task. Therefore, it is critical to determine their challenges and requirements to promote the safe rescue of snakes while protecting human lives.

Methodology/principal findings: In this study, we developed an online questionnaire and interviewed 152 snake rescuers in Tamil Nadu, India following written informed consent to determine their challenges and needs for rescuing snakes safely. The results demonstrate that most rescuers are males, and they conduct snake rescues for varying lengths of time. They mostly receive no formal training and are bitten by snakes. They spend their own money on the purchase of snake-handling equipment and on treatments if bitten or injured during a rescue.

Conclusions/significance: The rescuers highlighted the urgent need for formal training, safety equipment and standard protocols for rescuing snakes in Tamil Nadu. Overall, this study demonstrates that snake rescuing should be appropriately regulated by the authorities, in particular the Wildlife Division of State Forest Departments in India, and formal training along with necessary equipment, medical insurance and appropriate recognition should be provided to them to safely remove snakes from human dwellings and manage the safety of both snakes and humans. They can also act as educators to disseminate information about the preventive and first aid measures for snakebites as well as the ecological importance of snakes.