Animal rescuers today are just a phone call away. Johnson Stephen, an animal rescuer from Vasco received a phone call late evening to rescue a snake and he was prompt in delivering his services. The animal was about six kilometers away, but Stephen reached the spot and rescued the reptile. What was surprising was that he did not ask for payment for his service.
Active in the Mormugao taluka, Stephen has rescued more that 2,500 snakes and other wild animals from the locality. “I have been providing animal services for the last five years. It is my passion. I was trained under Amrut Singh, the president of the Animal Rescue Squad,” he beams.
Animal rescuers in the State usually render their services free of cost. “There are a number of NGOs in Goa which deal with snake rescue. We don’t get any assistance from the government. We do, however, have men in almost all talukas,” says Surel Tilve,one of the ex-directors of the Animal Rescue squad. Agreeing with him, Stephen explains, “We render our services despite the lack of funding. It would be much appreciated if our transport expenditure is taken into consideration. Generally, wherever we go for rescue operations, we avoid asking for payment because not everybody can afford it. Those who can’t afford would rather kill the animal than call us.”
“Forest animal rescuers get a daily wage of around Rs 295 excluding Saturday and Sunday. What about those working for NGOs and independently in almost all talukas? There are over 100 rescuers in the state. There has to be some financial assistance,” Stephen added. He works for the Honorary Animal Welfare Office under the Animal Welfare Board of India.
Amrut Singh says, “Rescued snakes are released at a distance of 500 meters from the village. Since they adapt to the climate, we cannot release them too far away from the areas they are found in. Some snakes are venomous while others aren’t. People need to learn the difference between the two and not panic looking at non-venomous snakes. Snakes tend to enter human habitat when their houses are destroyed by concrete jungles.”
Johnson went on to add that snake species like the rat snakes and the sand boa follow rodents into human dwelling areas. “These snakes are spotted where the garbage is being dumped and where rats breed. This is, after all, their food. There are minor cases occasionally where one might find a snake in a main city,” Stephen explained.
