<i>One held, 28 rare snakes seized</i>
A few of the 28 rare snakes, recovered yesterday from a man in a bus on the eastern side of Bangabandhu Bridge in Tangail, being released in Satchhari Reserve Forest of Habiganj. Inset, one of the two boxes the snakes were confined in. Photo: Courtesy
Law enforcers arrested a man on suspicion of breaking wildlife laws after he was found carrying 28 rare snakes in a bus on the eastern side of Bangabandhu Bridge in Tangail yesterday. The country's Wildlife Protection Act prohibits trapping, killing and trading of any wildlife. The snakes, five Indochinese Rat Snakes, locally known as Daraj, and 23 Binocellate Cobras, locally known as Khoiya Gokhra, were cramped inside two wooden boxes, says a Bangladesh Forest Department press release. The snakes would be released in Satchhari Reserve Forest of Habiganj under the supervision of Tangail Divisional Forest Officer Asit Ranjan Paul, as directed by Dr Tapan Kumar Dey, conservator of forest, wildlife division of forest department. Dr Tapan also asked the officer to take necessary legal action against the arrestee, Zahurul Haq. The country is home to 75 species of venomous and non-venomous snakes, now endangered due to a loss of their habitat. Moreover, smugglers, including river gypsy communities based in Savar, are involved in the illegal trade due to the big demand on the international market for snake venom used in making lifesaving drugs, added the release.
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