School of Pharmacy, University of Reading, Reading, United Kingdom.
Madras Crocodile Bank Trust, Mamallapuram, Tamil Nadu, India.
PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2024 Sep 17;18(9):e0012516. doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0012516. eCollection 2024 Sep.
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.
人类与蛇的冲突在全球范围内很常见，常导致蛇咬伤。蛇咬伤每年在全球导致超过 125000 人死亡和 40 万人永久残疾。仅印度每年就有平均约 58000 人死于蛇咬伤。随着人类发展迅速扩展到郊区和农村地区，蛇类被驱赶，居民在住所内发现蛇的情况越来越多。大多数人对蛇有一种天生的恐惧，再加上几个世纪以来文化和神话的负面影响，导致人们经常试图杀死蛇。蛇救援者是志愿者，他们将蛇移走并重新安置到安全区域。这是一项危险的工作，如果被咬伤，可能会有致命的影响。这些志愿者大多没有得到任何报酬，包括他们的时间或交通费用，但他们选择这样做是因为他们热爱蛇、保护动物，以及帮助他人的利他主义精神。蛇救援者通常没有接受过正式培训，也没有资金，因此在没有适当安全设备或完成任务所需的技能的情况下，无法正确地移除蛇。因此，确定他们的挑战和要求对于促进安全救援蛇类并保护人类生命至关重要。
方法/主要发现：在这项研究中，我们开发了一个在线问卷，并在印度泰米尔纳德邦采访了 152 名蛇救援者，他们在书面知情同意后确定了他们安全救援蛇类的挑战和需求。结果表明，大多数救援者是男性，他们进行蛇类救援的时间长短不一。他们大多没有接受过正式培训，并且被蛇咬伤。如果在救援过程中被蛇咬伤或受伤，他们会自己花钱购买处理蛇的设备和治疗。
结论/意义：救援者强调了在泰米尔纳德邦对蛇类救援进行正式培训、提供安全设备和标准协议的迫切需求。总的来说，这项研究表明，印度的野生动物部门应适当监管蛇类救援工作，提供正式培训以及必要的设备、医疗保险和适当的认可，以安全地将蛇从人类住所中移除，并管理好蛇类和人类的安全。他们还可以作为教育者，传播有关预防和急救措施的信息，以及蛇类的生态重要性。
