Is This a Good Idea?

Showing the public venomous snakes aren't as scary as people who fear them is what needs to happen. That will include free handling by those that have taken the time to learn how to correctly free handle venomous snakes by being careful but confident without being afraid. Free handling venomous snakes is not for everyone nor can anyone do it. Kind of like many things in life, hey what a coincidence. What you people should be doing is looking for experts that have taken venomous handling to a level of expertise that many venomous snake handlers fear and use them to promote why the minority of venomous keepers should be allowed to keep venomous snakes because they aren't as scary as everyone thinks they are. Should venomous snakes be respected? ABSOLUTELY but when so called experts need to keep them in a way that looks like we fear our snakes no wonder cities don't have any confidence in people keeping venomous and want to ban them.

Can venomous snakes be handled NUMEROUS TIMES WITHOUT BEING BIT? Obviously the answer is yes. Well to you who have such an opinion with no actual facts to back up your argument obviously disagree. Look at every other recreational activities where people get hurt and die and is quite the norm? Well all of that is legal and far more dangerous than free handling venomous snakes. Not all venomous snakes can be handled given the individual but that shouldn't put fear in to promoting not free handling any venomous snakes much less chastise the ones who do.

BTW I've been free handling since age 16 and never been bit while free handling.

Originally Posted by Nathan Tow-Arnett

Showing the public venomous snakes aren't as scary as people who fear them is what needs to happen. That will include free handling by those that have taken the time to learn how to correctly free handle venomous snakes by being careful but confident without being afraid. Free handling venomous snakes is not for everyone nor can anyone do it.

They would remain as scary to all the people who can't freehandle, who realize that it only takes one bite for injury or death to occur. And for the confident but not afraid freehandlers? That one bite can still happen.
I think that many have an entirely different perspective of those who keep venomous with all the usual precautions, handle with a hook, etc. and those who freehandle especially in public, with no precautions.

A lot of people I've educated on snakes aren't as afraid once they have a better understanding of snakes. For whatever reason people think snakes will attack unprovoked if it sees them which is simply not true and once that is established many friends who had a fear of snakes are curious to know more about snakes. In general people are highly afraid of what they don't understand and can't comprehend. Educating the public in a positive approach without trying to make people uncomfortable is necessary to get the majority to understand venomous snakes are not programmed to bite people any chance they get.

Respecting what a venomous snake is capable of and being afraid of it are two different things. A free handler cannot be afraid of the individual snake he or she is holding. It takes a lot of time, patients and understanding of the venomous snake that is to be free handled. Not all venomous snakes have the same temperament.

Free handling is not throwing precaution into the wind. There are a lot of precaution factors that play a role in free handling. Not every venomous snake can be free handled and the ones that can't that are highly irritable and cranky give warning signs that they just want to be left alone. I've taken many of the recommended precautions with gloves, hook large sized cage etc. Keeping venomous is not as scary as it sounds and should be done by those who have a true passion and have done their homework.

There are risks with a lot of recreational activities that it only takes one time you can die or get seriously injured and they are all legal.

Nathan,
I think this is one of those deals where we will have to agree to disagree.
But I have to compliment you on this last post here. Unlike earlier ones which seemed defensive and strident, this in is somewhat reasonable (I just don't agree).
And I appreciate that you put together a paragraph instead of a string of one liners each in a different post.