A 50-year-old man from Madurai recently made headlines, when a video of him, chewing on a dead snake went viral. 

The man has since been arrested and fined by the local forest department.

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The man has been identified as Vadivelu, a resident of Perumapatti, Tamil Nadu, who is an agriculture worker. 

The man faces a possible jail term of 6 months and has been fined Rs 7,000.

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In the video that has now gone viral, the man claims that certain Indian snakes are great antidotes for COVID-19. He also claimed that he has consumed snakes to protect himself again the virus.

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The local district forest officer, S Anand, ordered his team to locate and nab Vadivelu from Perumapatti, as per a report by The Times Of India. 

It was then revealed that the man was drunk at the time of the incident and that he was compelled by a few of the local men to eat the snake.

The report quoted Anand, who said “The snake was already dead when he picked it up. Vadivelu was lucky that he did not bite into the venom sack or the gland of the snake. The snake was identified as a common krait, which is actually quite poisonous. The common krait’s venom is known to paralyse a human being if the volume of the venom is little.”

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This is not the only instance when something this bizarre has taken place. 

Earlier this month, a man in Kolar, Karnataka, bit a snake into pieces, after the snake “blocked his path.” The snake in that instance was a much deadlier viper.

Coming back to this incident from Madurai, the incident went viral after it was picked up by a local news channel, which also aired a part of the video that was making the round on social media.

Be warned, this is a graphic video:

As seen in the video, the man clearly seems to be inebriated. The local forest officials are investigating the matter, and are looking for the people who cajoled the man into committing this act. 

This is the second incident this week, which again brings into question the lax rules and regulations we have against people charged with animal cruelty. 

We seriously need better and more stringent laws against animal cruelty. Also more awareness about Covid and the related vaccines.

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