Vada Nemili snake farm open to public after three-week break

MAMALLAPURAM: After a break of 25 days, the snake farm in Vada Nemili was open for public on Saturday after the required license was obtained from the forest authorities.

The snake farm, which is located at Vada Nemili on East Coast Road, has several Irula tribe members who catch and bring poisonous snakes to extract the venom for medicinal purposes. The snakes are placed inside mud pots to be kept in a cool environment and the venom that is extracted from them is later sent to the unit in Pune where medicines are made out of it to treat snake bites.

However, since the mandatory license was not obtained from the Tamil Nadu forest authorities, the snake farm remained shut for the past 25 days. On Saturday after the license was procured, the farm doors were open to public, and the members of Irula tribe went back to catching snakes from the vegetation. More than 95 types of snakes were on display on Saturday and over 700-1000 snakes are expected to be brought in over the coming days. The farm staff said that since only a few snakes have been caught after the opening, they will wait for the next few days to display the venom extraction process. Until then, the members of public will be educated by the Irula tribe on the various methods of treatments for snake bites.