CME on snakebite with alive COBRA at Kozhikode Medical College, Speaker booked

Kozhikode: A lecture at a Continuous Medical Education (CME) organized at the Government Medical College (GMC) Kozhikode here turned awry when the speaker, a renowned Kerala snake rescuer Vava Suresh took a Cobra snake out of his bag and displayed it to the audience.

Following the shocking action, Suresh has been booked by the Kerala Forest Department on the grounds of exhibiting a live Cobra in the class while he was delivering a lecture at the CME and torturing of animals, and lack of declaration of possession of animals specified in various Schedules before the Chief Wildlife Warden, under Sections 2, 9, and 40 of the Wildlife (Protection) Act.

In response to the directions given by the Divisional Forest Officer, Kozhikode, the Range Forest Officer of Thamarassery, filed a case against Suresh for violating the Wildlife Protection Act.

Causing a stir on the internet, the incident has brought sheer criticism after a photo of Suresh delivering a lecture on 'Experiences with Snakes' with a live cobra sitting next to his microphone went viral on Facebook. 

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The CME was organised by the Clinical Nursing Education Unit and Nursing Services Department on November 28 aiming to aware the students about the effects of snakebites. Due to this, the theme was set 'Snakebite- From society to science' and Suresh was invited as a guest lecturer since he is popularly known as the snake master for catching and rescuing a large number of snacks in Kerala.

While speaking about his experiences with the snakes, he also talked about the aftereffects of snakebites. However, the situation soon turned chaotic when Suresh decided to give lecture to the class with a live Cobra sitting beside him. This shocked the students who then started to click pictures and record videos of the incident.

Moreover, this is not the first time Suresh has been criticized for his unscientific way of catching snakes and displaying them. The controversial snake catcher has made headlines for his dangerous technique of catching venomous snakes and making rounds at the hospital battling for his life.

With 30 years of experience, he has caught more than 30,000 snakes and received 3,000 snake bites. He was also admitted to the hospital many times in critical condition following snake bites.

Just like one incident on January 2022 while he was attempting to capture a cobra in Kurichi, Kottayam when the snake bit him on his right leg. He was kept on a ventilator at Kottayam medical college and after battling for life for days, he ultimately regained consciousness.

Speaking to TNM earlier, Suresh said that he had enough experience, much more than any other snake rescuer, and maintained that training was not necessary for him. He also said that he receives several phone calls daily from across Kerala seeking his help to catch snakes.

According to The Hindu report, Suresh was allowed to catch snakes illegally in human habitats because the forest department had not given him a licence to do so. Therefore, the department has also faced backlash for allowing Suresh to catch snakes without a license.

Even though the forest department had introduced a license for snake rescuers in the state, Vava Suresh refused to follow the methods prescribed by the department, drawing criticism from other snake rescuers as well.

The department will soon serve notice to Suresh to summon him for an enquiry into the incident. Any relevant photos and videos of the incident have been collected by the department through preliminary investigation.

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