In Tamil Nadu, a unique group of tribals — the Irula — makes its living by catching snakes and rodents. Two members of this community were recognised only last year with the Padma Shri award. This tribe is the driving force behind a unique endeavour in the State: snake venom extraction. In changing times, when automation and cruelty-free testing have become the norm, the Irula Snake Catchers’ Industrial Cooperative Society, a one-of-its-kind collective at Vada Nemmeli in Kancheepuram, is on the cusp of changes that the Irulas are unprepared for.
Snakebite envenoming, a life-threatening disease caused by the toxins in a venomous snake’s bite, is primarily a ‘poor man’s disease’, mainly afflicting farmers, labourers, and tribals. It is a mounting public health concern, occurring mostly in rural areas. India has one of the highest number of snakebite deaths, averaging over 50,000 a year. The society, being run under the Department of Industries and Commerce, meets over 80% of the country’s venom requirements. As many as 350 Irulas are engaged in catching the ‘big four’ snakes (Russell’s viper, saw-scaled viper, common krait and spectacled cobra) from farmland in and around Kancheepuram, Chengalpattu, and Tiruvallur. Once the snakes pass a ‘health check’, the Irulas extract venom three to four times from each snake before releasing it back into the wild at the end of 21 days. The Forest Department decides the number of snakes to be caught a year, depending on venom stocks. Pharmaceutical companies buy the venom from the society to make anti-snake venom serum. The collective is staring at uncertainty because of a dated venom extraction method, requirements for region-specific anti-snake venom in the country, and scientific advances in the production of anti-snake venom serum.
Avoidable deaths
In 2017, the World Health Organization (WHO) listed snakebite envenoming as the ‘highest priority neglected tropical disease’. The same year, it established a snakebite envenoming working group to develop a strategic WHO road map for a 50% reduction in mortality and disability caused by snakebite envenoming by 2030.
A study, published in eLife, estimated an average of 58,000 snakebite deaths a year in India. It analysed the trends in snakebite deaths using the Indian Million Death Study from 2001 to 2014, and a systematic literature review from 2000 to 2019 covering 87,590 snakebites. The research also showed a huge discrepancy between the number of deaths reported by public hospitals and the estimates from the Million Death Study.
For instance, Tamil Nadu reported 500 snakebite deaths from 2003 to 2015, as published by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. The Million Death Study, however, put the total number of deaths at 36,000, with 10,000 estimated deaths in hospitals. This means that the government covered a mere 5% in its reporting.
According to experts, poor documentation of the number of snakebites and deaths by the States is responsible for the gap in the availability of anti-snake venom and the demand.
Cooperative: then and now
In a 2012 article published in Current Science, herpetologists Romulus Whitaker and Samir Whitaker noted that the standards of venom production and protocols of the cooperative society have considerable scope for improvement in conformity with WHO guidelines. They wrote, “To achieve the previous point, it is suggested that India’s largest venom producer, the ISCICS [Irula Snake Catchers’ Industrial Cooperative Society], be reconstituted as a multi-State cooperative under the Central government so that snake venom for the production of anti-venom can be collected from as wide a geographic area as possible in recognition of the fact that there is considerable regional variation in the composition of venoms and that there are species other than the ‘big four’ responsible for serious bites.”
Over a decade on, things have not changed much. “When I transferred my knowledge of how to extract venom from snakes, those were the things that I learnt in 1965 in the United States when I was working at the Miami Serpentarium,” says Mr. Romulus, who founded the Madras Crocodile Bank Trust (MCBT) and worked with the Irula tribe to establish the cooperative society in 1978. He attributes the difficulties in bringing about changes in the process and infrastructure to the slow-footed government. “We are proposing the Irula cooperative to be upgraded to what’s called a serpentarium. And this is again following the WHO mandate that wild snakes not be caught and used [and let out], but be bred in captivity so there’s a much more clear understanding of where the venom is coming from,” he says.
A quality analysis of the venom extracted at the Irula cooperative society by the King’s Institute at Guindy reportedly showed impurities. By now, it is well known that the technique adopted for venom extraction and the manner in which the snakes are kept are all questionable, says Gnaneswar Ch, Project Lead, Snake Conservation and Snakebite Mitigation, MCBT. In August, WHO representatives who visited the cooperative society and assessed the process of venom extraction deemed the process not being up to the mark and suggested changes. “We are waiting for the written guidelines,” says Mr. Gnaneswar.
In addition to the technical drawbacks in the cooperative society’s way of functioning, a more crucial aspect is the regional variations in venom composition. Studies have shown clear geographical and intra-species differences in venom potency. According to Kartik Sunagar of the Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science (IISc), a study revealed alarming shortcomings in contemporary snakebite therapy in India: the anti-venom could not counter the toxic effect of many neglected species, and failed against the north Indian population of the common krait, a ‘big four’ snake. Comparing the populations of the monocled cobra in West Bengal and Arunachal Pradesh, Mr. Sunagar and his team found that while the venom of the former was rich in neurotoxins, the latter’s venom had more cytotoxins (toxins that destroy cells). “And because of distinct feeding ecologies, differences were also observed in their venom potencies,” he writes in the IISc blog.
Studies have highlighted the inadequacy of the venom from the Irula cooperative society, the primary venom centre in the country, for use in other parts of the country as there are variations within four species of the cobra, eight species of kraits, and two distinct subspecies of the saw-scaled viper. “In addition, several of the 22 species of pit vipers in India, a number of sea snakes and species such as the king cobra are capable of causing human and livestock disability and death,” notes Mr. Romulus.
To cater to specific envenoming, the Union government has planned to open regional venom centres over the next seven years in different parts of the country.
Meanwhile, the MCBT has proposed a pilot project involving visits to multiple serpentaria, venom collection centres, and antivenom manufacturing centres across the world to survey how they work and how they are financed and staffed. The project is also aimed at bringing in experts for consultations, and identifying the present and future markets for venom distribution. The project has not taken off yet for lack of approval and funds from the government. However, a 3.5-acre land has been identified for expanding the cooperative society. “There was some issue with the identification of land but it has now been sorted out by the Collector. It is in Vada Nemmeli. The transfer proposals are being followed up,” says Archana Patnaik, Secretary, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Department. “We’re working on the proposal. It is very much in the radar,” Ms. Patnaik adds.
While efforts at advancing anti-venom and venom production should continue, an equal amount of attention must be paid to prevention, says Mr. Romulus. “Why aren’t we spending more time getting people to understand snakes’ behaviour? About how to avoid being bitten, using mosquito nets at night, using a light at night when they are walking,” he adds. The MCBT, as part of its snakebite mitigation programme, has been involved in sensitising local communities through educational programmes, short films, and workshops. “An NGO can do it, fine. But the government has much more resources,” says Mr. Romulus
According to Ravikant Ralph, a member of the State expert committee for developing guidelines for managing snakebites and venomous stings, designating snakebite as a notifiable disease will further improve reporting from health facilities. However, not all snakebite victims go to hospitals; they rather go to traditional healers. “So, even if it is notified, it is difficult to know the exact number,” he says.
What lies ahead?
When the regional venom centres come up, the demand for the venom of the big four snakes from the Irula cooperative society will go down. “It’s true that the Irula cooperative society will suffer because it won’t sell as much venom, but the good thing is the Irulas, as a tribe, have wonderful capabilities, like rodent control, that have never been tapped into,” says Mr. Romulus.
Extracting venom from snakes kept in long-term captivity is one of the internationally accepted ‘good manufacturing processes’, as serpentaria would have the advantage of monitoring the snakes throughout, keeping them appropriately fed, reducing stress, and thus increasing the quality of venom. However, under the Wildlife (Protection) Amendment Act, 2022, keeping snakes in captivity is illegal and would require exemption. “As per the existing law, they can’t keep snakes in captivity,” says Chief Wildlife Warden Srinivas R. Reddy, adding that a serpentarium would require approval from the Central Zoo Authority. In the case of a serpentarium being set up, the Irulas would not be required to catch snakes every year. Instead, they would need to go through reskilling to take care of snakes in captivity. “The idea for now is to employ as many members as possible. Most of them would be ideally able to retain their jobs and those who could not should receive some other subsidies from the government,” says Mr. Gnaneswar.
For Kali, a member of the cooperative society, catching snakes is unlike any other job. “The Irulas take pride in having this skill,” he says. The members, however, are also concerned about social mobility. While they supplement their income from other snake-catching jobs through the cooperative society to sustain themselves through the year, the members are keen on educating their children so they can lead a more comfortable life than the present generation.
C. Munusamy, another member, expresses doubts about keeping snakes in captivity as, according to him, snakes in the wild adapt themselves to different weather conditions and eat species other than live rats. “Maybe, it will work for a saw-scaled viper because it doesn’t need much space, but I’m not sure about the other snakes,” he says. Mr. Munusamy, who has an undergraduate degree, says the tribe will adapt itself to anything that helps it grow in its own profession.
