How Hong Kong’s new breed of ‘snake kings’ are defanging a cruel practice
- For years, reptiles that slithered too close to humans would be delivered by ‘snake king’ catchers to authorities and might languish in boxes for days
- But a new type of licensed catcher is putting snakes back into the wild almost right away as city moves further away from tossing them into soup pots
Crouching low in the mud, Hongkonger Ivan Li Yat-long did not flinch as the 1.6-metre (5.2 foot) common rat snake coiled around his arm, its grip tightening.
“I never get nervous, I love it,” he said, after cutting the reptile free from the net in which it was entangled on a farm in Yuen Long in the New Territories.
The 33-year-old seh wong – a Cantonese term for snake catcher which translates as “snake king” – bagged the reptile before driving to a nearby country park and releasing it there.
He is one of four people licensed under a recent policy change to catch snakes that give people a fright and release them into the wild. Previously, police had to deliver the reptiles to the Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden, which would release them after a health check.
Under the “rapid release” change which came into effect in October, qualified snake catchers respond to sightings and release those they catch into the wild themselves.
Experts have welcomed the change, saying it not only increases chances of survival, but also helps to weed out snake catchers who use cruel methods.
Police received 2,968 reports of snake sightings between January and October, compared with 3,078 in the whole of last year.
For more than 20 years, authorities wrestled with how to handle the complaints coming from populated areas.
From king cobras to corn snakes, the reptiles have been known to turn up in public toilets, prisons, car engines and under garden barbecues. Although the snakes are harmless and usually do nothing, people are alarmed just to see them.
In the past, residents were advised to call the police. If the reptile posed a threat, officers would call on the services of one of Hong Kong’s estimated 130 snake kings.
Most of them used to be snake soup restaurant owners who caught the reptiles to slice up, cook and serve to their patrons, according to Kadoorie Farm senior conservation officer Paul Crow.
He said some would kill the snakes or pull out their fangs with pliers, and they could earn upwards of HK$1,000 (US$128) per snake by selling the meat and gallbladder.
Following complaints, the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department, Kadoorie Farm and police introduced the Wild Snake Rescue Project in 1999.
All captured snakes then had to be sent to Kadoorie Farm, which would do a basic health check before releasing them into the wild. Police paid the catchers HK$800 per snake.
British Hongkonger William Sargent, 48, an event director, was born and raised on Lantau Island where he still lives with his wife and two children. He recalled that he and his brother would head into the forest and catch snakes when they were growing up.
“When you’re a kid, it’s cool to go out and catch cobras,” he said with a laugh.
He gradually built up an extensive knowledge of Hong Kong’s 47 species of land snakes – 14 of which are venomous – and became the go-to catcher on Lantau Island. He has caught about 300 snakes since 2015 and built up a following of 16,000 for his Facebook group, Hong Kong Snakes.
In 2017, Sargent started lobbying the police and Kadoorie Farm to update the snake rescue policy.
“I was catching snakes on Lantau Island and giving them to police,” Sargent said. “They’d then sit in a box in a police station for days without water until the officers could drive them 30km [19 miles] to Kadoorie Farm.”
In 2020, members of his Facebook group penned more than 200 letters to authorities demanding that a seh wong who caught and killed a snake on video be blacklisted.
In August 2022, the rapid release policy was tried out on Lantau Island. Rather than handing the snake to police, Sargent would send a video showing himself releasing the creature in a suitable area.
The exception to the rule was the Burmese python, Hong Kong’s apex predator, which is protected. Those caught must be sent to Kadoorie Farm for checks.
During the year-long trial of the release policy, the farm developed a comprehensive test of humane methods of snake catching and the different species in Hong Kong.
The city now has about 25 seh wong, six of whom are not associated with the food industry, according to Kadoorie Farm. All were invited to sit an exam at the farm and 14 showed up.
Sargent and Li were among only four who passed and were licensed to carry out rapid releases starting in October, when the policy was rolled out citywide. They are paid HK$1,200 per release.
Crow said many of the old snake kings either failed the test or did not take it.
But both Li and Sargent said the updated policy had room for improvement.
“There are only four of us, and if we are not available, police will call on the other seh wong and then take the snake to Kadoorie Farm,” said Li, who also visits schools to teach children about Hong Kong’s wildlife.
The pair said they were inundated with calls about snake sightings. On one occasion, Li released 10 snakes in 24 hours.
Sargent said he hoped the new policy would give rise to a new breed of seh wong, who were knowledgeable about Hong Kong’s snakes and cared about animal welfare.
