Snake Charming Birth Right

I'm of the view that Japan is one country where I see things so far out that I could never envision seeing such things anywhere else.

India is another country in that category...where else in the world could there ever be snake charmers union?

From Agence France-Presse and the Telegraph (UK)...

An estimated 5,000 charmers from all over West Bengal took to the streets of the state capital, denouncing wildlife protection laws that proscribe the commercial use of wild animals, including performances with live snakes.

Since the laws were fully implemented in the late 1990s, the estimated 800,000 snake charmers in India say they have effectively been deprived of their livelihood while an estimated 20,000 are serving jail terms for defying the ban.

"It's our birth right to charm snakes. No can deprive us of that," said Langra Bede, 35, who has suffered two cobra bites in his charming career.

"Our forefathers charmed snakes. We grew up with this. It's basically all we know," he said.

Raktim Das, general secretary of the charmers federation, told reporters on the sidelines of the protest in Calcutta that the government should make the traditional performances legal again.