The Cobra is a fearsome beast. As dangerous as it is beautiful, it conjures the image of an Indian snake charmer and wider mysteries of the orient.

But in a village 70 km northwest of Hanoi, villagers live with the snakes as a part of their lives.

In Vinh Son snake village around 70 percent of resident families breed snakes for a living, using them for both medicine and tasty treats. Catching snakes had been a tradition in the village for hundreds of years, but today the snakes are farmed at a centre established in 1979 by late Prime Minister Pham Van Dong.

“We farm them legally and the authorities license us to transport them to customers,” said Vu Manh Hung, a breeder and trader.

“I used to deal with Chinese partners and almost all of the snakes we raised were traded to China, but I am looking to the domestic market,” he said. “It's a traditional job, and farming snakes has enabled farmers in our village find a new life.”

Each family breeds 600-700 snakes per year; the village sold 160,000 last year, one local official reported.
At two years of age, each snake weighs about 3kg and will fetch a price of VND360,000 ($24) per kilogram. That puts a snake farmer on income of several thousand dollars per year against the $50 to $80 most earn from rice.

(Source: Time out)