Snakebite is a neglected global health crisis causing an estimated 100,000 human deaths annually — but the response to snakebite, including widespread snake killing, also causes enormous suffering to wild snake populations that deserve welfare consideration.
The welfare dimensions of snakebite span both human and animal suffering. Envenomation causes extreme pain and, in many cases, slow and agonising death or permanent disability in human victims. The response — widespread snake killing — causes death and suffering in wildlife populations that are mostly innocuous and ecologically valuable. The challenge is to address the genuine human welfare problem of snakebite while reducing the reflexive killing of snakes that generates wildlife welfare harm without improving human safety. Education about snake identification, behaviour, and first aid is a welfare intervention for both humans and snakes simultaneously.