King Cobra Imported to Korea for Venom Extraction YouTube... 30s Man Fined

Suspected of Violating Animal Protection Act and Others... Fine of 2 Million Won

A man in his 30s who extracted venom from an endangered King Cobra and uploaded a video of it on YouTube was fined.

On the 9th, Judge Lee Hyerim of the Criminal Division 3 at Gwangju District Court announced that Mr. A (35), who was indicted on charges of animal cruelty to an endangered species (violations of the Animal Protection Act and the Wildlife Protection and Management Act), was sentenced to a fine of 2 million KRW.

Mr. A was brought to trial for forcibly opening the mouth of a King Cobra, an internationally endangered species, twice at his residence in Buk-gu, Gwangju, in June last year, and rubbing to extract venom. He held the King Cobra's head with his hand to open its mouth, then rubbed the snake’s mouth and fangs against the edge of a cup covered with rubber gloves to obtain the venom.

Cobra. The photo is not related to the specific content of the article. [Image source=Pixabay]

Additionally, Mr. A uploaded a video of himself extracting King Cobra venom on his YouTube channel on the 17th of the same month, titled "The Largest Cobra Venom Extraction in Korea."

The court judged that the act of collecting bodily fluids from the King Cobra constituted animal cruelty, and since the King Cobra is an endangered species, it also violated the Wildlife Protection and Management Act.

According to Article 8 of the Animal Protection Act, no one shall engage in acts of cruelty that damage the body of a living animal, extract bodily fluids, or install devices for extracting bodily fluids. Furthermore, under the Wildlife Protection and Management Act, advertisements that may promote extinction or reduction or cause cruelty to endangered wild animals and internationally endangered species are prohibited.

The King Cobra, distributed in South and Southeast Asia including India, Myanmar, Malaysia, and the Philippines, is the longest venomous snake, measuring 3 to 5 meters in length. King Cobras mainly prey on other snakes and occasionally eat rats or lizards, with an average lifespan of 20 years. Although it is a highly venomous reptile, it mainly lives in deep forests, so human bites are rare. However, if bitten by a human, the fatality rate reaches 75%.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.