Angry activists have filed a complaint after a snake rescuer allegedly instigated a fight between a cobra and a mother dog, who was protecting her litter.
A video of the incident shows the ferocious fight between the cobra and the dog. Four pups died of snake bite as the cobra was captured by a snake rescuer, called Mirza Arif.
The incident occurred at a home in Bhadrak town in Odisha, India, where a dog had taken shelter under the staircase of a house along with her seven pups.
On September 17, the owner of the house, Bijay Parida, heard the dog barking. When he went to check he was shocked to see a standoff between a monocled cobra and the dog.
The snake, which had come to eat the pups, had already killed two of them and the mother dog was barking loudly to save her brood.
He called Mirza, who managed to rescue the snake.
Animal rights activists say Mirza aggravated the situation by instigating a fight to create a spectacle.
Subhendu Mallik, Honorary Wildlife Warden, said: “Mirza delayed the rescue and pushed the cobra towards the dog with a hook.”
Santosh Das of People For Animals, who has filed a complaint with senior forest officials and Union Minister Maneka Gandhi, said: “Mirza violated wildlife and prevention of cruelty laws. He intentionally pushed the snake towards the dog.”
Mirza denied the allegations and said he could not rescue the snake straight away as the space under staircase was narrow.
“I went down on my knees to catch the snake and was worried the snake or the dog would attack me. It was a struggle and it took me 30 minutes to rescue the snake.”
