Today, cultural changes are threatening the profession of the snake charmer in India. One reason for this is the rise of cable television; nature documentaries have extinguished much of the fear and revulsion once felt toward the animals and thus demystified the snake charmer. Animal-rights groups have also made an impact because of the cruelty of the practice, and the abuse of a number of endangered species. Another factor is urbanisation and deforestation, which have made the snakes upon which the charmers rely increasingly rare.