State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam today expressed concerns over the killings of snakes in different districts in the country in recent times.

He expressed his concerned in a Facebook post this afternoon, a day before the World Snake Day, following recent “snake culling spree” in different areas in the county.

More than 200 snakes were killed in Satkhira and Rajshahi recently.

READ MORE: More snakes in Rajshahi, Satkhira, all 202 killed

He also called upon the countrymen not to indiscriminately kill the snakes and to hand over those to the forest or zoology department.

“Do you know the role of snakes to maintain ecological balance? They live on harmful insects. If snakes do not eat these, we may not survive,” he wrote.

He further said, “If you think it’s risky, keep carbolic acid in homes. If it seems very problematic, catch them (with snake charmers in rural areas) and hand over the snakes to the forest or zoology department.”

“Please, never bring about new catastrophe by killing snakes,” he requested.

There is an incredible diversity of snake species that occupy a wide range of environments in tropical and temperate areas, from deserts and mountain summits to oceans. With about 3,458 species known so far, snakes are a successful group of predatory vertebrates, according to National Geographic.

The Wildlife Conservation Society celebrates World Snake Day on July 16 (tomorrow) with its continuing efforts to educate the public about this amazing group of reptiles.