OKARA: Speakers exposed different misconceptions and mistaken beliefs about snake medications and their “spiritual effects” as propagated by quakes and snake charmers at a workshop held by the University of Okara (UO) in connection with World Snake Day on Tuesday.
The workshop was participated in by a great deal of trainees and defective members.
Addressing the workshop, UO Vice Chancellor and Chairman of Department of Zoology, Prof Dr Muhammad Wajid, said the approaches utilized by snake charmers to capture snakes and tame them were deceitful.
He discussed different types of snakes and their environments, talking about clinical snake-handling strategies and the methods to save life in case of snake bite.
He informed the trainees about the extremely specialised field of snake milking (extraction of snake venom) and the sale of the venom to pharmaceuticals.
Dr Muhammad Adnan, In-Charge of Department of Wildlife & Ecology, notified the audience about preventive procedures to prevent snake bite throughout monsoon season.
“Snake bites cause 1.8 million to 2.7 million deaths annually and most of such fatalities occur in the subcontinent region. Here, farmers mostly encounter snakes during the cultivation of rice crops,” he said.
He likewise admired the function of Rescue 1122 in snake handling and arrangement of emergency treatment to the bite victims.
Concluding the occasion, Prof Wajid promised to take the trainees to the field see to various locations for recognition of different snake types discovered in Pakistan.
Published in Dawn, July 19th, 2023