[adamanteus]

Rhea, I'm afraid it's true, they do skin snakes alive in many places in the Far East. If the snake is alive, it "assists" the process, as it would while sloughing, in it's efforts to get away. They also remove the gall bladder from living snakes.

Literally millions of snakes are killed every year, because of their ability to cure impotence and generally rejuvenate. Yeah, right. It's a disgusting trade, and one which I have tried to bring to the attention of organisations such as WWF and IFAW many times over the years. Unfortunately snakes just aren't cuddly enough to be championed by these people. Don't even get me started on this!