“This is an organized crime”

The widespread superstition and myths caused the trade with India's red sand Boa-a not cheap, gentle snake, which is classified as “almost threatened” by the international Union to maintain nature-and endanger the survival of the species.

What happens?

According to Monababay, red sand boas can be found in dry areas of the country and near Ackerland, where they contest rats, mice and lizards and control their population. For this reason, they are generally referred to as the “friend of the farmer” and are not regarded as an annoyance.

Although illegal trade in red sand boas is protected according to the 1972 Wildlife Protection Act, it increases throughout India. It is one of the most traded animals in the country and worldwide, mainly from beliefs about its supposed supernatural forces.

Some people believe that the queue will bring prosperity and prosperity, while others believe that the animal's spinal cord has special forces that can be used in magic sayings to control someone per monabhable.

Another “bizarre” myth about the red Sand Boa is that, according to Shattabdi Chakrabarti, a reporter from Mongabay India, heavy snakes attract. This superstition is particularly dangerous because they cause people to violently feed them with large lead balls, which can lead to injuries or even death.

Rajesh Chahal, a wildlife inspector in the Haryana Forest Department, told Monabay that it was not just uneducated people or certain communities that are involved in the Boa trade with red sand.

“We find more educated people and well -established people who have a decent amount of money,” he said. “In the past, Sand Boa was easy to see. We would recognize them on field roads along the fields. Now it is not seen.”

“This is an organized crime,” he added.

Why does the trade with red sand boas go to?

In a report from 2023 of the Wildlife Conservation Society-India, 172 incidents of red sand-boa attacks documented between 2016 and 2021, and the IUCN stated that the population of animals decreases in most of their habitats.

Her declining numbers could harm farmers who benefit from the snakes, keep rodent populations in chess and disrupt the balance of the ecosystems, since their digging behavior ventures the soil and promotes plant growth.

Chakrabarti found that it was too easy to buy a red sand boa in an undercover operation. Monababay reported that most sales via online platforms such as YouTube and WhatsApp take place. When chakrabarti contacted a snake seller on YouTube, she was informed that she could carry the queue “the snake easily by car or train in India's capital Delhi and that it would probably not be stopped.

Unfortunately, it is not just Red Sand Boa people trade that rises throughout India. Officials have found that illegal trade in gibbons, lizards, spiders, other exotic snake species, pangolines, frogs and turtles also increases.

What is done to reduce the animal trade in India?

Wildlife Conservation Society asked journalists to increase reporting on the Red Sand Boa in order to raise awareness of common myths in connection with the animal. The officials were looking for smugglers because the Times of India reported that four people were arrested in 2023 because he had tried to sell a red sand boa.

Like chakrabarti, people who intercept animals with human trafficking are important help for animal and airport officials when catching criminals.

You can help individually by donating to the local authorities at anti-human groups and reporting alleged wildlife crimes.

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