Free Handling

[MrFireStorm]

Hi all,

Just putting a question out there to everyone.

Ignoring all States regulations etc......

What are your thoughts of free handling venomous snakes in public????

Cheers
Darron

 

[Tassie97]

umm yeah those vens that where on the news they were complete like had venom glands and fangs ?

 

[MrFireStorm]

umm yeah those vens you had on the news they were complete like had venom glands and fangs ?

Ummm, yeah they did.....BUT it was not me

 

[Tassie97]

ok well that was a bit to cuddly for me but if there is a barrier between the public and the snakes (pit) then i am fine with it but walking around the streets with a tiger snake around your neck i would say no

 

[Jonno from ERD]

G'day Darron,

I'll jump in before this thread descends into turmoil.

Freehandling in public, in my opinion, is grossly irresponsible. I can freehandle until the cows come home, there's no "art" to it, just an understanding of the animal and reading body language. The problem is the message it sends - you want people to leave any sort of public demonstration thinking "OK, snakes aren't terrible creatures, but they still deserve respect". You can demonstrate how calm they can be without taking unecessary risks that are easily copied by impressionable children.

I have noticed that most of those that freehandle in front of a crowd are very much "showmen", who enjoy the ego-boost of being on stage doing something dangerous and having people comment on how brave they are. There are notable exceptions to this, such as Neville Burns and Ian Renton - both of whom have paid the price, too.

 

[Snake Catcher Victoria]

I do love an old fashioned snake show,
complete with ooohs and ahhhs..

but I spose,

like Jonno says,
who's gonna think of the friggen children IF they get bitten,,IF they copy what they see at a show??

(Look at video game they play and tell they copy what they see.)

Of course it's an ego boost for the showman,
any showman I would imagine.

If the fella/woman doing the show is good enough, then the right message will get through, freehandling or not.
JMO

 

[Waterrat]

I do love an old fashioned snake show,
complete with ooohs and ahhhs..

There is some magic to it. When I was young and impressionable, I met Vic Hayden, a showman working the the Australiana Village at Wilberforce, just out of Sydney, He free-handled everything! I was mesmerized as I watched him lifting a taipan with both hands and putting it around his neck ... the audience went ahhhhh (it bit him on the shoulder). I was also mesmerized when we couldn't put him into a car after serious tiger snake bite a year later. He was stiff as a board, we couldn't bend his knees, to put him on the seat. He died not long after.

 

[Wild~Touch]

IMHO...there are carnival/circus showmen....then there are the OTHERS (very rare almost extinct.)

Luckily I've had the priviledge to have seen a few examples.

The first qualification should be silver hair .(this is said in jest.)

 

[Snake Catcher Victoria]

That sux Michael, was he a friend of yours?
The law of averages would come into play sooner or later I would imagine.
Injuries in the workplace are common and usually avoidable.

 

[Tassie97]

well i think the handling of those snakes on the news was totally inappropriate having tiger snakes wrapped around your arm and neck letting kids pat it if you are displaying vens dont treat them like pythons around kids how many of those "Handlers" have been bitten ? if you handle them correctly and responsibly that wont happen unless under a freak circumstance just what i think

 

[imported_Varanus]

Sounds like that handler "on the news" was Mr Venomoid?

 

[Tassie97]

Sounds like that handler "on the news" was Mr Venomoid?

is he in tasmania ?

 

[pythons73]

Well clowns should be left at the circus,free handling at home etc if you have studied the snake etc is fine,however in a public show,IMO it doesnt matter who you are-how many years experience you have,should NEVER do it when theres children around,otherwise they will think if they came across any snake,its ok as the dude at the reptile show did it.Yes you can study the body language of a snake and realise "sometimes"if its nasty or about to bite.But not always the snake abites by the rules,hence why i got biten by a red belly..

 

[MrFireStorm]

So far the comments have been pretty much the same as my thinking as well. I personally think it is irresponsible and against many workplace risk assessments to even allow it. IMO, regardless of how much you "know" the snake it would only take a sneeze or spooking for the snake to instinctivly bite and in most cases probably on the face.

Tassie97.....I am not just referring to the snakes on the news...I am talking about at anytime in the public.

Imported_Varanus......Nice guess but soz NO.....I would try everything possible to stop said person showing in Tassie....hee hee

Please keep your views coming.

(this is not being used in any political or reporting cases....Just getting others views/opinions)

 

[whyme]

I freehandle all my vens, but in the privacy of my own snake room. Experience doesnt mean you wont get tagged. I have'nt seen the news report that you're talking about, but if some guy is wrapping these things over his arms and showing everybody in town, he should have his head read. It takes a lot of respect and smarts to freehandle vens. Obviously said person is lacking these!

 

[Tassie97]

well i think it is ok if they are showing it in a pit for a bit then in a bag but not letting it near people and just tailing it not wrapping it around your neck :shock:

 

[snakehandler]

Today the shows are more about education than the shock value and the entertainment. While most competent people can free-handle, those who have and understanding of Occupational Health and Safety, child psychology and basic education skills will know that the message does not get in through shock value, it gets in through the quality of the presenter. Yes we are trying to educate the public that the snakes are not out to get you etc....but we are also trying to get out there that a person is most at risk when trying to interact with them, practice what you preach!

 

[eracer]

Is it possible for someone to post a link. I have not seen the footage?

 

[Tassie97]

sorry shouldn't of posted the link

 

[snakelover33]

i am a 12 year old girl and u personally love free handling venomous snakes tigers,red belly,browns i love them all