Description of proposed project

An estimated 200–600 million mice and rats are bred, killed, and sold as feeder animals each year—primarily for pet snakes. These rodents are typically raised in facilities that mirror the worst aspects of factory farming: overcrowded bins, poor sanitation, high mortality rates, and inhumane killing methods such as freezing or blunt force trauma (if not fed live). Despite its massive scale and the tremendous suffering involved, the feeder-rodent industry remains largely unexamined—even within animal advocacy and effective altruism circles. While it has begun to attract some attention from EAs, there are still no focused solutions or coordinated interventions.

The industry also poses a serious biosecurity risk: large numbers of feeder rodents are farmed with minimal oversight. Millions are also shipped to the US and Europe from China each year, potentially carrying pathogens or pests.

Our project is developing the first scalable alternative to frozen rodents—a shelf-stable, nutritionally equivalent, and cost-competitive snake food—seeking to become the new norm in reptile feeding and potentially eradicate this form of factory farming.

How much money do you need?

$125k for go-to-market planning, execution, and working capital.

Quick note on our stealth approach and how to connect

For any impact-oriented communications, we’re intentionally keeping a low profile and operating in stealth. We want to avoid any perception of ulterior motives that might turn off snake owners or deter adoption.

If you’d like to learn more or discuss further, please reach out at thesnakefoodcompany@gmail.com, and we’d be happy to share additional details privately.