Amid the nationwide panic over the Russell's viper, each of the five hotlines of the Forest Department's Wildlife Crime Control Unit is receiving an average of 50 calls an hour. People call in fear whenever they see a snake anywhere, and some even kill snakes and then call to ask the department for reward money.

The Wildlife Crime Control Unit says that checks on the information given by callers show 80 per cent of the snakes being killed are non-venomous.

Sanaullah Patwari, director of the Wildlife Crime Control Unit, gave these details to the media on Sunday, 23 June.

"Calls are coming in every minute. While we are talking on one call, two or three more come in. Most people are calling in fear. Some call after seeing a snake, some want to know what to do if they see one, and some report having killed a snake. We are taking photos from callers via WhatsApp, and among the snakes killed there are almost no Russell's vipers. Most of the dead snakes are non-venomous and useful," he said.

He added that one of the main reasons for the rise of the Russell's viper is the decline of its predators in nature. The snakes now being killed in the name of controlling the Russell's viper include the ghorginni, python, daraj and shankhini, among other species, most of which eat Russell's vipers and keep them in check. Yet people are killing these useful snakes too.

Sanaullah Patwari said: "We are asking everyone who calls the hotline not to kill snakes and to leave them alone. No snake attacks anyone unless it feels threatened. The Russell's viper does not climb trees or come into homes. A little care when going into fields greatly reduces the risk of being bitten by one. It is good that people have become aware, but the killing must stop."

Asim Mallick, an inspector at the Wildlife Crime Control Unit, said calls had been coming in 24 hours a day for the past three days. "Some call in panic and want a solution. Some call for no reason and harass our female officers; that happens too. But most calls are from people who are frightened or want to know what to do when they see a snake," he said.

He added that callers who report a snake are asked to send photos. Some send pictures of snakes they have killed and some of live snakes. "But from what we see on checking, more than 80 per cent of the snakes killed are non-venomous or useful. So we are advising people not to kill snakes but to leave them alone, or, if they feel it is a real problem, to scare them away," he said.

About 6,000 people die of snakebite in the country every year, fewer than 200 of them from Russell's viper bites. The Health Emergency Operation Centre and Control Room of the Directorate General of Health Services says that, checking reports published in newspapers, it has information on only six snakebite deaths so far this year.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.