In today’s Finshots, we tell you why India’s one-of-a-kind snake venom industry is hanging by a thread.

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The Story

When the colonial rulers left, they left behind a stereotype. They loved labelling India as the ‘land of snake charmers’. It was meant to mock us.

But what if we told you that this so-called insult is not really an insult?

Because these “snake charmers” today support an entire segment of the healthcare industry. Okay, maybe we’re stretching it a bit with “snake charmers”. But there’s a whole group of people who catch snakes to extract venom, which is vital for medical treatments.

Wait… what???

Well, we’re not kidding.

India suffers up to 4 million snake bites each year, resulting in 50,000 deaths. These deaths can be caused by various factors such as allergic reactions, infections, delayed treatment or even something called envenoming. For context, that’s half of all snakebite fatalities globally!

And at least 4% of these deaths are specifically due to snakebite envenoming, a potentially life-threatening condition following a venomous snake bite. This disease hits farmers, labourers and tribal communities the hardest. And without timely and proper treatment, such bites can lead to severe medical complications, permanent disabilities or even death.

And this is where the heroes we mentioned earlier step in. We’re talking about the Irula Tribe of India.

The Irulas are one of India’s oldest indigenous communities, living along Tamil Nadu’s coasts. They are expert snake catchers, using techniques passed down from their ancestors.

Despite many of them lacking formal education, their knowledge is remarkable. They catch the deadliest snakes — the common krait, Indian cobra, Russell’s viper and saw-scaled viper, which are responsible for 90% of snake bites in India. And the venom they extract is supplied to manufacturers to produce something called ‘anti-snake venom’ or ASV, which basically neutralises the effects of snake bites. In fact, 80% of the venom used for ASV in India comes from the Irula community, and this treatment is effective in 8 out of every 10 snakebite cases.

So yeah, these folks have a near monopoly in the business. And this might make you think that they are thriving.

But the reality is starkly different. Because the lives of the Irula people are far from comfortable or privileged. And right now, their business is hanging by a thread, all because the very system meant to protect them is starting to fall apart.

See, in 1972, India passed the Wildlife Protection Act, and by 1976, it banned the export of snake skins. This hit the Irulas hard because that’s what their livelihoods depended on. To help them adapt, wildlife conservationist, Romulus Whitaker, stepped in and helped them establish the Irula Snake Catchers’ Industrial Cooperative Society (ISCICS). This cooperative helped the Irulas earn money by catching snakes, extracting venom and then releasing the snakes back into the wild after a few weeks.

As of now, about 350 members of the cooperative generate an annual sales of about ₹4 crores. But this figure is more of an upper limit because income can fluctuate. For example, in 2022, they only made ₹30 lakhs due to unpredictable permissions for catching snakes.

To provide some context, thirty years ago, the Madras High Court permitted the Irulas to extract venom from 13,000 snakes each year. However, the Forest Department has since slashed that quota to 5,000. The reason is simple. Handling more snakes means keeping them in captivity for longer. And keeping snakes cooped up for too long goes against the Wildlife Protection Act’s regulations on animal welfare.

But then, this quota reduction significantly impacts their income. Imagine this. A 10 ml vial of anti-snake venom (ASV) costs at least ₹300. And India sells about 15 lakh vials annually. Crunch the numbers, and you’re looking at at least ₹45 crores in sales every year. Now, compare that with the Irula cooperative’s annual earnings, and you’ll see just how big the earnings gap really is.

On top of that, the permissions to catch snakes often come late. The annual quota resets in April, but sometimes the community gets permission just a few months or even days before the year ends in March. It’s like the state government is putting up roadblocks for its own industry. And the end result is that many Irulas must take on other jobs, like woodcutting or household chores in nearby villages for most part of the year, to support themselves.

Also, selling venom has its own set of challenges. For the most part, the extraction methods of the Irulas seem outdated. And quality checks have occasionally found impurities in the venom. Ideally, a serpentarium or zoo, where snakes are bred and monitored, could help resolve this issue. It’s something that the WHO (World Health Organization) mandates too. But securing permissions from the Central Zoo Authority for this has been slow.

Moreover, snake venom varies based on the snake’s habitat, diet and environment. So this simply means that the ASV made from the venom the Irulas extract may not always be effective for every snakebite, which could affect its sales.

What’s the solution then, you ask?

Well, it’s not like the government is ignoring these problems or just sitting on its hands. Last year, it honoured two Irula community members with the Padma Shri for their contributions to India’s healthcare. Plans are also underway to increase their wages, since one of the awardees, Masi Sadaiyan, earned only ₹4,000 a month despite his risky work. However, without speeding up the permission process and allowing the community enough time to catch snakes and extract venom, higher wages won’t make much of a difference.

Talks of turning the ISCICS into a multi-state cooperative under the Central government is also in the works. This could make venom collection more effective by covering a larger area and creating a better mix for distribution. But that process is moving slowly as well.

So, the bottom line is that governments and authorities need to act faster to save India’s snake venom industry. Sure, awards and recognition are wonderful, but they can’t pay the bills, no?

Until then…

Note: An earlier version of this story mentioned ASV’s sales as at least ₹60 crores instead of ₹45 crores. We’ve now corrected this error.

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