Nag Panchami 2018: PETA Undertakes a Campaign to Prevent Cruelty Against Snakes

The festival of Nag Panchami is celebrated widely among the Hindus. The festival in the Holy month of Shravan sees the worship of snakes throughout India. A lot of people thus catch snakes, the cobras and then keep it enclosed in baskets and use it as a manner to make money from the worshippers. While they misuse and do not take proper care of these snakes, PETA organised an awareness campaign to save and protect the snakes. The campaign was undertaken in Nagpur, along with another city-based People for Animals Welfare Organization. Nag Panchami 2018 Date: Puja Muharat, Tithi, Fasting, Rituals, History & Significance of The Festival of Snakes. 

It was a silent awareness campaign which saw two girl students of 9th standard dressed and painted in snake attire. They walked on the roads with placards that read 'Have a cruelty-free Nag Panchami.' The girls stood on a busy street at Samvidhan Square for more than an hour to give out the message. The messages were written in both Hindi and English, and also appealed to the people to be kind towards snakes. These cobras which are caught for the festival are not necessary fed properly and forced to drink the milk offered by devotees who are unaware of the pain and illness.

Take a look at the video of Nag Panchami awareness campaign by PETA:

The festival of Nag Panchami is celebrated in Nagpur and even the other states of Maharashtra. In this campaign, PETA appealed to spare the snakes from the terror and misery of confinement. It can even result in death in some cases. They asked people to have snake-free celebrations. The forest department recently rescued 21 snakes from snake charmers in Mathura. Out of 21, 14 of them were cobras.