Citizens in Surkhandarya found keeping cobras at home

Residents of the Surkhandarya region were found to be illegally keeping snakes, according to the Ministry of Ecology, Environmental Protection and Climate Change.

A total of 23 snakes—6 Central Asian cobras and 17 Eastern boas—were confiscated and later released back into the wild.

The snakes were discovered during inspection raids. They had been illegally kept by citizens and were temporarily transferred to the Tashkent Zoo. Following a scientific assessment by the Institute of Zoology under the Academy of Sciences, the reptiles were released into the Kampirtepa, Sherjon, and Sholkon areas of the Surkhan State Reserve.

The Central Asian cobra and Eastern boa are listed in the Red Book of Uzbekistan and in Appendix II of the CITES convention as vulnerable species with limited, fragmented distribution. The Red Book notes that the Central Asian cobra has completely disappeared from some of its former habitats and survives only in small numbers elsewhere. Reliable data on the population of the Eastern boa constrictor is currently lacking.

Previously, an attempt to smuggle 15 snakes listed in the Red Book to another country was prevented at the Navoi border customs post in the Tashkent region.