Python Torture

Kerala was notorious for its brutal treatment of wildlife and animals until recently. The public’s perception of animals has drastically changed as a result of legal encounters and media attention.

A python was brutally crushed, squeezed, and made to regurgitate its prey of two chickens in a 2018 social media video. The torturer was a snake catcher of the Kasargod Divisional Forest Department, and it was a common practice for several snake catchers to show their bravery and talent.

According to the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972, pythons are classified as schedule-1 snakes. Mistreatment of a python is a serious misdemeanor that carries a sentence of three to seven years in prison. We reported the incident to the Wildlife Department by filing a complaint, but the department disregarded our request. We have since petitioned the Kerala High Court against the Wildlife Department and the catcher. Accordingly, the court ordered to book the crime under the Wildlife Protection Act -1972.

This is the first snake case that has ever gone to trial in an Indian court in our knowledge. The widespread awareness raised by the media was mirrored in several Indian states. In Gujarat, some of the dancers and organizers were detained for the long-standing Indian custom of dancing with snakes. In Tamil Nadu, a self-proclaimed woman goddess was taken into custody while wearing a wrapped snake around her neck. Additionally, Kerala has seen a sharp decline in the mistreatment of snakes.