Rogier van Rossem from Tilburg was fascinated by snakes as a child. “My parents always said I must have been a snake charmer in a previous life.” After some insistence, Rogier received his first snake from his parents when he was six. “That soon became two and then three.” He later started his own terrarium shop and on Friday he is one of the driving forces behind a special benefit concert Snakefest in Breda, the proceeds of which are used to prevent snake species from becoming extinct.
For Rogier, snakes have been part of his life since he was a little boy. “While other children played with cars, in a zoo I always ran straight to the reptile house and read all the books about snakes I could find.”
As he tells this in his terrarium shop on the Textielplein in Tilburg, an enormous yellow and white tiger python hangs around his neck. “And this is just a small male. Females can grow to be two very long.” Rogier makes no secret of his fascination for these animals: “The mysterious body shape and beautiful colors. And the reptilian brain dates from the time of the dinosaurs.”
“Without snakes, many habitats collapse like a house of cards.”
Other species of snakes in beautiful colors crawl in the terrariums around him. “These animals are all bred in the Netherlands and I also work with zoos that have breeding programs for endangered snakes.” He himself studied snakes and worked in zoos, including the Beekse Bergen. Eighteen months ago he published the Large Handbook of Terrarium Science.
According to Rogier, snakes are an important part of the balance in nature. “Without snakes, many habitats collapse like a house of cards. Because they are an important link, for example because they eat a lot of mice and rats. Because if there are too many of these small pests, entire crops can be lost.”
“We show how humans can benefit from snake venom.”
Many snake species worldwide are threatened with extinction. Their habitat is becoming smaller and smaller. They are killed for fear of a snake bite. Poachers use their skin for shoes and bags. “Snakes deserve just as much protection as the panda and the tiger,” says Rogier.
That is why there will be a special benefit concert at Poppodium Phoenix in Breda on Friday evening: Snakefest. Various rock and metal bands perform there for free. Visitors are also given an explanation about snake venom. “We show how snakes use venom, but also how humans can benefit from these types of venom. A large number of medicines have been developed from snake venom and these are life-saving for many people.”
The proceeds from Snakefest go entirely to projects that revolve around snakes through the Herpetofauna Foundation. Rogier is committed to this foundation that tries to protect reptiles and amphibians.
Rogier: “One of the projects is the Snakebite Survival Fund, which helps victims of snakebites, but also provides information about these animals. As a result, we want to ensure that fewer snakes are killed unnecessarily, out of fear. And another good cause is a nature conservation project that wants to prevent snakes from becoming extinct.”
