- Title
- From snake handlers to wildlife entrepreneurs
- Creator
- Markwell, Kevin; Cushing, Nancy
- Relation
- Venom: Fear, Fascination and Discovery p. 57-63
- Publisher
- Medical History Museum, University of Melbourne
- Resource Type
- book chapter
- Date
- 2013
- Description
- The process of obtaining raw venom for research purposes and for the production of life-saving antivenoms is a highly skilled undertaking that carries with it considerable risk for the individuals involved. An error in judgement or a lapse of concentration could result in a bite with serious consequences including death. The production of antivenoms has not been possible without a small number of individuals willing to risk their health, and sometimes their lives, to milk highly venomous snakes of their precious venom. The 'milking' procedure most commonly employed involves holding the snake's head against a beaker over which a membrane of rubber or latex has been stretched. The snake's fangs penetrate the membrane and venom collects in the beaker. Bill Haast, the charismatic owner/director of the Miami Serpentarium Laboratories which opened to the public in 1947, popularised snake milking to an American audience, milking tens of thousands of snakes in front of rapt audiences throughout the life of this facility. The public interest in such performances proved to be just as strong in Australia, when snake expert, Eric Worrell, milked dangerous snakes for an appreciative audience at his Australian Reptile Park from the late 1950s.
- Subject
- snakes; snake handling; wildlife entrepreneurs
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1341532
- Identifier
- uon:28763
- Identifier
- ISBN:9780734048349
- Language
- eng
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