The importance of hands-on reptile education.
The holding of
wildlife in biology education is critically important.
TV “documentaries” and the like invariably exaggerate the “danger” of wild
animals, including most reptiles and especially snakes. The end point is a general fear and loathing
of reptiles and other animals by too many members of the public.
Snakes are portrayed
as one-dimensional animals that want to do nothing more than kill the first
human they find.
The reality is far
different. Snakes in particular are not
interested in people. Well-adjusted
captives, as so different to what is portayed on TV, that most people display a
sense of stunned disbelief as to why the snakes aren’t aggressive.
At Snakebusters,
Australia’s best reptiles displays, the most common question we get asked is
“why don’t the snakes bite”?
Our answer, “Why
should they?”
This answer fails to satisfy many people, expecially those
from older generations who have spent a lifetime being indoctrinated to the
fact that all snakes want to bite and kill people.
Captive snakes (and
other reptiles) are more than happy to be handled by people for hours on
end. Snakebusters snakes often spend up
to 8 hours a day being handled by
people and are ready for more of the same after a good night’s sleep.
The educational
impact of people being able to hold reptiles in a non-threatening situation is
unrivalled. Nothing else de-demonizes
reptiles more than good hands-on reptile education like Snakebusters does at
reptile shows, reptile parties in Melbourne, kids reptile parties and corporate
reptile parties.
Notwithstanding the
value of this education, less experienced rivals that don’t practice hands-on
with reptiles white-ant our educational message by continuing to demonize
reptiles to their audiences. Worse still,
local “competitors” to Snakebusters, including the DSE and their branch office
in the form of “Zoos Victoria”, which includes the Zoos at Melbourne,
Healesville and Werribee are now seeking to outlaw all public contact with
reptiles.
Snakebusters has spent
over $30,000 fighting to maintain the public’s right to have hands-on with live
reptiles in 2010 and this fight will continue as long as needed.
Hands on reptile
education will always be superior to the hands-off reptile displays of our less
experienced competitors.
There is a plan to
outlaw all private ownership of reptiles in Victoria in 2012 (announced by the
DSE at end 2008), and Snakebusters has spent a huge amount of effort trying to
prevent this from happening.
Unfortunately the
tabloid media have not reported the story, except for a few pieces in “Leader”
newspapers, that were run after Snake Man Raymond Hoser featured in local
stories when educating local schools and children about reptiles.
If private ownership of reptiles is banned in Victoria, it is likely this will also impact on future availability of kids reptile parties Melbourne, kids reptile shows and kid's reptile incursions, with the end-point being that if anyone in Victoria wants to see a reptile in future, it may only at best, be some mite infested snake behind glass at the Melbourne Zoo.