‘Snakes more loyal than people’

MANILA, Philippines - Snake in the grass?

Contrary to popular belief, not all snakes are treacherous, according to Manny Tangco.

The owner of the Malabon Zoo said this as he read books, swam in a pool, and showered with his Burmese pythons wrapped around his body yesterday.

“They never bite me. All you have to do is feed and take care of them. You know, snakes have a sense of gratitude 99.9 percent of the time,” he said, referring to his pythons of 30 years.

“Unlike humans, who have 50 percent chance (of betraying you). Feed them, educate them, clothe them, care for them, and they will still bite you,” Tangco said.

He opened his zoo doors yesterday to show that snakes can be friendly.

The pythons swam with him in the pool then prayed with him. After that, like little children being put to sleep, the snakes lay on the bed as Tangco read to them.

Tangco appealed: “Don’t hurt them.”

“Instead, the public can use the reptiles to hunt rodents that pester the farm. Snakes eat rats. Kill the snakes and there will be more rats pestering the rice and corn farms.”

Tangco also said introducing snakes to the public is timely because of the Chinese New Year. The year of the Water Snake, he added, is a good year which is seen to “bring more food on the table.”

Snakeskin products

Meanwhile, to celebrate the coming Year of the Snake, some members of the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) would bare their skin today to appeal to the public not to patronize products made of snakeskin.

In a statement, PETA said yesterday that German national Vera Emrich and Canadian Ashley Fruno would be among the animal rights activists who would be demonstrating this noon in Chinatown in Manila.

The participants, with their naked bodies painted to look like snakeskin, would be holding signs that read, “Snakes Suffer for Exotic Skins.”

Through the demonstration, PETA hopes to educate tourists and shoppers on the detrimental effects of purchasing snakeskin products.

“I’ll gladly bare some of my skin if it will help save animals’ skin. Each year, millions of animals endure unspeakable cruelty so that the fashion industry can make purses, belts, and shoes. By dropping exotic-animal skins from their collections, companies have sent the message that cruelty to animals is never fashionable,” Fruno said. – With Evelyn Macairan