Needless slaughter of snakes continues despite their undeniable contribution to the ecology and human society. The unprecedented unsustainability of the diverse snake species is a loss not only to biological diversity, but also to cultural diversity. Evidence discloses that tribal snake charming communities still safeguard the sustainability of the variety of snake species to safeguard their own survival. Unfortunately, due to the imposition of bans and the crackdown on snake charming by the Indian Wildlife Protection Act (1972), the tribal snake charming communities are on the verge of extinction. Hence, positive socialisation has become inevitable for the restoration of sustainability of both snake society and tribal snake charming communities through the effective formation of ‘tribal snake charmers’ cooperative societies’ like the Irula Cooperative Society (ICS), established in Tamil Nadu in India in 1978, or similar institutions, which may be an Indian instance for a sustainable way of conserving biological diversity vis-à-vis cultural diversity.
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