![\"Python](\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/pythonsmall.jpg\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nA large glass show cabinet in the reptilian section of Vienna’s Natural History Museum serves as a poignant reminder of the impact of fashion and careless purchases on the survival of species in the wild.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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- Display has snakeskin leather goods alongside a stuffed Burmese Python<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Highlights the importance of species conservation and the threats faced by snake and reptilian species in the wild<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Located in Gallery 27 of the museum<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- See also:\n
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- Natural History Museum visitor tips<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Snakes, leather and greed<\/h2>\n\n\n
\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/python.jpg\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n(Photo \u00a9 NHM Wien, Christina Rittmannsperger)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Naturhistorisches Museum in Vienna serves various educational, scientific, environmental, and entertainment goals and often combines all four in its ever-evolving displays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A cabinet in among the museum’s reptile collections illustrates this combination perfectly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A 5m-long Burmese Python (Python bivattatus<\/em>) from Java hangs languidly from a tree stump, its head held above an assortment of snakeskin products strewn across the floor of the large glass display case: a stuffed cobra, handbags, wallets, boots, and other clothing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These items have all been confiscated by Austrian customs or found their way into the museum via miscellaneous bequests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As such, the items represent exactly the kind of products whose manufacture leads to poaching and the large-scale animal slaughter that contributes to declining wild snake populations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So the message is clear: don’t buy snakeskin products (or any products made from reptilian skins, frankly).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Quite apart from the impact on snake numbers, the production of snakeskin leather commonly involves significant animal welfare problems. The squeamish should look away now: animals are often skinned alive and left to suffer an unpleasant and painful death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Burmese Python featured in the display cabinet offers a classic case study of the impact of leather production on a species.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Once a common sight in SE Asia, population numbers fell significantly in the late 20th century. All thanks to the needs of the snakeskin leather industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Official protection and\/or export bans have allowed some recovery in, for example, Thailand and Indonesia. But, at the time of writing, snakeskin production still continues relatively unabated throughout many parts of the region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Throw in habitat loss through agricultural encroachment and human population growth, and we have another animal species in need of protection from the impact of human activity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), for example, describes the Burmese python as “Vulnerable” on its Red List of Threatened Species<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And a 2012 International Trade Centre report estimated annual export numbers for Burmese Python skins of around 100,000, with most python skins sourced from the wild.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How to get to the display<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Once you reach the museum (see the bottom of the main page <\/a>for directions), go on up to the first floor and look for gallery 27 (Saal XXVII).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you’d like to see pythons and\/or other snakes alive and well, then try the large indoor aquarium and vivarium at Sch\u00f6nbrunn Zoo<\/a> or the reptile sections of the Haus des Meeres<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Address: Burgring 7, 1010 Vienna<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- Natural History Museum visitor tips<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n