| Parassinkkadavu Snake Park | |
|---|---|
 Entrance | |
 Interactive map of Parassinkkadavu Snake Park | |
| 11°59′25″N75°23′21″E / 11.9902°N 75.3893°E /11.9902; 75.3893 | |
| Location | Parassinikkadavu,Kannur,India |
| Memberships | CZA[1] |
TheParassinkkadavu Snake Park is located inParassinkkadavu,AnthoorMunicipality,Kannur district, northKerala in southIndia. It is about 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) fromKannur city and about 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) from National Highway (NH) 17, enroute toTaliparamba fromKannur.
The park houses a variety of snakes and other small animals, including theSpectacled cobra,King Cobra,Russell's viper,Krait and various pit vipers. There is also a large collection of non-venomous snakes includingpythons. The park is dedicated to the preservation and conservation of snakes, many species of which are gradually becoming extinct. In a live show, trained personnel play and 'interact' with a variety of snakes, includingcobras andvipers, and try to quell mythical fears and superstitions about snakes.[citation needed]
Pappinisseri Visha Chikitsa Kendra (Pappinisseri Venom Treatment Center) was started in 1964 with the intention of treating snake bites (snake envenomation). It was created in memory of the Late Shree C. P. Kumaran Vaidyar and functions as a center for advanced clinical research and literary documentation in Agada Tantra.
Ever since its inception in 1964, it has had a virtual monopoly in treating and clinically documenting snakebite cases - more than a million of them. The main physician at the Pappinisseri Visha Chikitsa Kendra is Dr. B. Prabhakaran.
In 1993, the park was destroyed by the ruling party(2017) ofKerala due to political issues with the minister MV Raghavan at that time regarding thePariyaram Medical College . Political issues led some followers of the political party to vandalize and arson the park, as a result of which, many rare species of reptiles, e.g., king cobras, birds and some other animals were brutally burnt to death.
