JEDDAH, 19 April 2005 — Dr. Deborah Zahid, owner of Tahlia International Veterinary Clinic, and snake expert Jalal Al-Gharbi will work together to educate children about snakes and other reptiles.

“He has a passion for snakes. Since he has agreed to stop beheading and eating them as part of his act, I don’t see why his expertise shouldn’t be utilized to educate children,” Dr. Zahid told Arab News.

Born and raised in Makkah, Al-Gharbi has been around snakes all his life. Married with four young children, he lives in an apartment with approximately 300 snakes. Among the snakes are venomous king cobras and potentially dangerous anacondas. Also living in the apartment are two alligators, 30 spiders and crabs as well as an iguana.

“My passion and my hobby is snakes. I have been around them since the age of four. During my younger years, I taught myself, about them but since then, I have been to India to learn about them from the source,” he explained. Al-Gharbi is certain that his knowledge of reptiles surpasses that of most veterinarians.

“Veterinarians have the medical knowledge, but I have the practical experience. I have lived with snakes for my entire life. I know how they think and act. I know what it’s like to be bitten, and have felt the effects of the venom and even know what it tastes like. I also know what it’s like to bite back,” he said.

During a performance at last summer’s Jeddah Festival “Nancy Agram”, the name of his once favorite venomous cobra, bit Al-Gharbi on the hand. He was rushed to the intensive care unit of Soliman Fakeeh Hospital where he was in a coma for two days. Initially he suffered some memory loss but once recovered, he had his revenge. Nancy Agram was beheaded, skinned, cooked and eaten during a subsequent show.

“My snake eating and killing days are now over. I talked to an imam on Sunday. He told me that eating snakes is forbidden by Islam. I didn’t really think that it was wrong, but now I know, so I have stopped,” he said.

Among other assistance, the veterinary clinic will provide Al-Gharbi with a medical model of an actual snake’s organs that Dr. Zahid says can be used to show the children what the insides of snakes look like.

“I will order a large specimen which will be of a real snake, already dissected and encased in a display. All the organs can be viewed, so he won’t have to kill one,” she said.

“I will stand behind him 100 percent if he assures me that no more snakes will be killed. I will play a DVD of his show in my clinic’s reception as well as display his brochures at various places. I can also invite him to come to the clinic to speak to other snake and reptile owners. There are plans to produce a television show to teach children about caring for their animals and he can be a part of that,” Dr. Zahid concluded.