A Tamil Nadu tribe supplies 80% of India’s anti-snake venom but struggles to find a cure for poverty
The Irula community plays a crucial role in public health by supplying nearly 80% of the venom used for antidotes in India.
Despite gaining global attention for making a profit of ₹2.36 crore by extracting and selling 1800 gm of snake venom over the last three years, a cooperative society of Irula tribals located on Chennai's outskirts is facing an uncertain future.
Notwithstanding their success story, the tribals use an outdated venom extraction method. Meanwhile, the demand for region-specific venom is increasing, and global scientific advancements are being made in producing advanced anti-snake venom serums.
Tamil Nadu's Irula community, renowned for its unique skills in catching snakes and rodents, plays a crucial role in public health by supplying nearly 80% of the venom used for antidotes in India.
Their traditional practice, which has been in place for 46 years through the Irula Snake Catchers' Industrial Cooperative Society, became more widely known after the 2021 Tamil film Jai Bhim, starring Suriya, depicted their snake-catching skills and the challenges they faced from authorities and police. Despite the recent recognition of their skills with the Padma Shri award for two members, the Irula tribe faces significant challenges in sustaining their traditional snake venom extraction methods.
The rise of automation and the shift towards cruelty-free testing have left the Irula society in Vada Nemmeli, Kancheepuram, unprepared for the changes. Additionally, the community is encountering hostility from the forest department, which views snakes as wildlife.
Venom from snake bites can cause snakebite envenoming, a potentially fatal disease that predominantly affects farmers, labourers, and tribal people, posing a significant public health concern in rural India. The country has one of the highest numbers of snakebite deaths, averaging over 50,000 per year.
In an interaction with HT, 45-year-old Masi Sadaiyan, one of the Padma awardees, said that he earns just ₹2,000 to ₹4,000 per month by risking his life catching snakes for venom extraction. During summer, when the state government prohibits snake-catching, he works as a farmhand and woodcutter. ``My three children could not be educated due to my poor income, and now they are working as daily wage labourers. We need a guaranteed monthly income for our high-risk work," said Sadaiyan.
Around 350 Irulas are involved 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 districts that share a border with Chennai. After a health check, the Irulas extract venom from each snake three to four times before releasing it back into the wild after 21 days. The forest department determines the annual number of snakes to be caught, based on venom stocks.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) is currently funding various central government agencies to establish a snakebite-envenoming working group to develop a strategic roadmap for a 50% reduction in mortality and disability caused by snakebite-envenoming by 2030. However, the Irulas have not yet benefitted from this initiative.
Despite steady demand from pharmaceutical companies, the extraction method and the final product are now challenged to pass strict scientific validation based on new standards.
Moreover, a recent quality analysis of the venom extracted at the society by the King's Institute at Guindy showed impurities. In addition, a group of snakebite mitigation experts has found that the technique used for venom extraction and how the snakes are kept are both questionable. Two years ago, WHO representatives who visited the cooperative society and assessed the venom extraction process deemed the process unsatisfactory and suggested a series of phased modifications. However, the society was not able to implement most of them effectively.
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), his study has revealed alarming shortcomings in contemporary snakebite therapy in India: The antivenom could not counter the toxic effect of many neglected species and failed against the north Indian population of the common krait.
Comparing the populations of the monocled cobra in West Bengal and Arunachal Pradesh, Sunagar and his team found that while the former's venom was rich in neurotoxins, the latter's had more cytotoxins (toxins that destroy cells).
Studies have highlighted the variation in venom among different snake species in India, making the venom from the cooperative society inadequate for use in other parts of the country. This includes variations within four species of the cobra, eight species of kraits, and two distinct subspecies of the saw-scaled viper. In addition, India is home to several species of pit vipers, sea snakes, and the king cobra, all capable of causing harm to humans and livestock. As a response, the Union government plans to open regional venom centres in various parts of the country over the next seven years.
The Irula Cooperative Society has identified 3.5 acres of land for expansion. Additionally, Tamil Nadu's health secretary, Supriya Sahu, emphasised the need to train tribal snake catchers to update their techniques in line with scientific advancements while acknowledging the community's reluctance to change. She also mentioned the state government's plan to increase the wages of the tribal snake catchers.
Extracting venom from snakes kept in long-term captivity is recognised as a good manufacturing process, as it allows for monitoring the snakes' well-being, reduces stress, and improves the quality of the venom. However, the Wildlife (Protection) Amendment Act of 2022 makes keeping snakes in captivity illegal.
According to the existing law, keeping snakes in captivity is not permitted, and setting up a serpentarium would require approval from the Central Zoo Authority. If a serpentarium is established, the Irulas snake catchers would not need to hunt for snakes yearly. Instead, they would need training to care for snakes in captivity. The goal is to employ as many members as possible, and those who cannot retain their jobs should receive government subsidies.
Kali, a member of the cooperative society, takes pride in his snake-catching skills. However, he and other members are concerned about social mobility and strive to educate their children for a more comfortable life. The society, consisting of 354 members, continues to feel neglected and impoverished due to governmental neglect despite their life-saving antivenom production efforts.
The state forest department's delay in granting permission to capture the annual quota of snakes for venom extraction denies Irulas a regular monthly income. On average, the society can permit the capture of 5,000 snakes of four species annually, earning varying amounts for each species.
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