Snake charmers in India have staged a protest against a law which bans them from using live serpents.
About 1,000 performers marched through Calcutta playing their flutes in opposition to the 1991 ban, reports the BBC.
The protestors claim that the law threatens their livelihoods and have called for it to be overturned. Despite the ban, hundreds of thousands of snake charmers still perform the traditional show.
The head of India's snake charmers federation Raktim Das said: "We are being consistently harassed by the police for keeping snakes, which are snatched away without paying us compensation." He suggested that serum farms could be established where charmers could sell venom for medical use.
Meanwhile, animal rights groups have argued that the ban should be kept to curb the abuse of snakes.
About 1,000 performers marched through Calcutta playing their flutes in opposition to the 1991 ban, reports the BBC.
The protestors claim that the law threatens their livelihoods and have called for it to be overturned. Despite the ban, hundreds of thousands of snake charmers still perform the traditional show.
The head of India's snake charmers federation Raktim Das said: "We are being consistently harassed by the police for keeping snakes, which are snatched away without paying us compensation." He suggested that serum farms could be established where charmers could sell venom for medical use.
Meanwhile, animal rights groups have argued that the ban should be kept to curb the abuse of snakes.
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