laoLao... Whiskey of a darker kind

laoLao (yes the first L is lowercase and the second upper) is a Laotian alcohol, usually made from fermented rice. The alcohol concentrations usually differ hugely within the ‘high’ range. It has a sweet taste, perhaps with a hint of yeast and is often drunk neat. Back in the day honey or scorpions were often added to give the brew an aesthetic kick but times have now changed, populations have ballooned and beliefs of a darker kind have led an increase is a more sadistic version of laoLao.

The inflated ego’s of those who sell laoLao whiskey (or snake wine as it is otherwise known), tout the alcohol as a curative of all sorts of diseases including hepatitis, HIV, hair-loss and ... yes you’ve got it ... a virility kick!

And then we have the ignorant tourist entering the fray. Once again.

There are a few problems here. First off it is the general run-of-the-mill tourist thinking that such a product is ‘cool’ and a great present to take home. Second there is the advertising on travel sites such as Luxadventure Traveller advertising the drink as a product to take home as a souvenir, and finally, there is the government who is not taking the tourist toll on their wildlife seriously and allowing, for example, online sales of curiosities such as laoLao whiskey.

I was once shown a poster that asked: Tourist or Terrorist? A terrorist being defined as ‘one who favours or uses terrorizing methods for the accomplishment of some object.’

If the needless death by alcohol drowning of thousands upon thousands of animals from birds to snakes, scorpions to lizards, agamas and chameleons so as to accomplish the simple task of bringing home a memorable souvenir is not terrorism then what is it?

Many of the species that fill these bottles of rice wine are vulnerable or in some cases even endangered. Each individual killed brings the species closer and closer to extinction and although this traditions had, undeniably existed for centuries, the influx of Western tourists has driven production and sales to record levels. 

There have also been studies done that have linked the high harvesting levels of snakes to rises in the rat population - with no snakes to eat them that would be bound to happen!

Tourists may not be buying the wine because the snake venom contained inside those drowned snakes aid back pain or rheumatism, but they support the industry with their lack of information. We must not forget also, the large numbers of Chinese and SE Asian tourists that travel across their own continent. They too fuel this trade as they too take home such sick mementos. Harvests for the tourist trade are not sustainable and unless we, the buyer, take a stand we must be held responsible for the extinction of some of these species.  

The magnitude and impact of the ‘snake wine’ industry and all of the other species that are drowned in this amber liquid, including but not limited to scorpions, sea horese, birds and geckos, is under researched and under documented ... 

Growing populations, open market economies together with more fire, hunting, overgrazing, clear-cutting of land, conversion of wild land to agricultural land (and did I mention the tourism problem?) are driving our wildlife species into extinction. we must all take our place a responsible world citizens and stop acting like terrorists!  

Tips for Erasmus travellers:

• Think long and hard, even outside your usual box of thinking when buying such souvenirs, what I have written about here is substantiated in a 2010 report done by the University of Sydney (Journal of Threatened Taxa 2010) and reported on by the BBC in an article entitled The Wine that comes with added Bite.
• Learn from the traditions of others but don't buy into them for curiosities sake. 
• Students studing environmentally linked degrees who need a dissertation subject ... here is one for you!

Here is a poster I once made for a competition regarding Kenyan wildlife. I feel the same message applies to all tourists in any country.

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