Illegal Snake Venom Centre Raided in Roorkee, 86 Poisonous Snakes Seized
The venom centre, which was operating without permission, had been functioning for an extended period in the forest area of Roorkee’s Civil Line Kotwali.
Published : September 10, 2025 at 5:05 PM IST
Roorkee: In a major crackdown on illegal wildlife activities, the People for Animals (PFA) team from Delhi, along with local forest department officials, raided an illegal venom centre at Khanjarpur village in Uttarakhand's Roorkee on Tuesday evening.
The team recovered a total of 86 venomous snakes, including 70 cobras and 16 Russell vipers, all of which were found in poor condition. The venom centre, which was operating without permission, had been functioning for an extended period in the forest area of Roorkee’s Civil Line Kotwali.
Authorities were alerted after receiving information about a person illegally keeping and collecting snakes, including protected species, under the Wildlife Protection Act. During the raid, it was discovered that the venom of the snakes was missing, raising concerns about possible illegal distribution or trafficking.
The snakes were found in unsatisfactory conditions, further deepening the suspicion about the illegal nature of the centre's operations. Sunil Baloni, SDO Foest Department of Rorkee, said that when the forest department officials took all the snakes with them, the owner of the centre was not present on the spot.
Vishnu, the representative of Nitin Kumar, the owner of the collection centre, was the only one present when the raid was conducted. Baloni said that when the representative was questioned, he said that he stays here 24 hours a day, but does not know where the snake venom was supplied.
Forest department officials said that an investigation will be conducted, and further action will be taken on that basis. Nitin Kumar, the applicant for the venom collection centre, was earlier given a conditional permission of one year by the Chief Wildlife Warden of Uttarakhand on December 31, 2022, for setting up a snake venom collection centre in Bishanpur Jwalapur district of Haridwar for the manufacture of life-saving medicines. The permission period expired in December 2023.
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