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village’s financial books in this period
show that in one year Vinh Son brought
in over VND28 billion ($1.3 million),
with around 65 per cent of this (VND18
billion, or $865,000) coming from the
snake trade.
At present, over 70 per cent of Vinh
Son commune’s households (930 out of
1,300) rear snakes. Of these, 500 breed
copperhead and Ptyas mucosa which
are highly valuable. Last year, around
500,000 snakes were shipped to China,
Taiwan and Korea.
“I moved into breeding snakes in
2005 after a series of professions. Ini-
tially, I bought over 200 breeding snakes
to rear and I now have over 3,000,” said
Vu Manh Hung, the director of Hung Mai
Company Limited which specializes in
snake-based item production.
Last year, the company brought in
over VND1 billion ($48,000) from ex-
porting more than 10 tonnes of snakes,
providing employment to several dozen
workers with monthly incomes averag-
ing VND3-4 million ($145-$170).
It is these financial returns that
have promoted so many villagers to
enter the business. Vinh Son is now
very densely populated, with over
5,000 people living on 327 hectares of
land. The villagers make use of every
available space, from private gardens to
houses, to rear snakes.
Today, the more poisonous the
snakes are, the better the profits. Be-
cause of this, Vinh Son people favour
rearing copperheads, the venom of
which, some say, could kill an elephant.
Unsurprisingly therefore, ten villag-
ers have reportedly died due to snake-
bites. “Even the strongest people can
only survive nine hours after a bad
poisonous snakebite; the weaker will
have around two-three hours to live,”
said villager Ha Van Vua.
The removal of fingers or limbs
following snake bites has become com-
monplace. Commune chairman, Nguy-
en Van Quyet, lost one finger after a
copperhead bite.
“This is a perilous craft. One can die
due to carelessness,” Quyet said.
Despite the risks, most family
households in Vinh Son are not per-
turbed. In a bid to expand the craft’s
scope and reduce the risks, Vinh Son
has planned a central farming area en-
compassing breeding, production and
product exhibition sections.
It is hoped that this area will attract
several hundred farmers, contributing
to the local economy and bettering
people’s income.
This year, the focus will be on site
clearance and calling for investment
from diverse sources. Land will be given
over for local production and business
households later this year.
Vinh Son commune authorities are
teaming up with the province’s Depart-
ment of Industry and Trade to maximise
the craft village’s advantages and pro-
mote Vinh Son’s image in the domestic
and overseas markets.
An intimidating sight and one which explains
the high rate of amputations and deaths in this risky business