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Bob Clark (Industry and community irresponsibility?) INQUIRY

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In his likely desire for more fame outside the high-end herp community, Bob Clark has, in my opinion, performed irresponsibly on at least two seperate occasions. While being presented as a "venomous snake expert" he and Jack Hanna have, in my opinion, helped to further the cause of those who feel that we, the public, have no business keeping venomous reptiles. If you believe that he is the expert he represented himself as, it seems apparent that even an "expert" cannot control such a dangerous animal. If you believe this, then how can a layman or amateur such as myself think they can do so.

This angers and frustrates me to no end, as I have made repeated trips to my state's capitol to defend the rights of herpers in my state, and present my case that we are responsible, educated, cautious, and posessing of great respect for these creatures. These sort of antics and half-assed behavior, combined with the misinformation that the Monocled cobra in the video is labelled as a "King Cobra" and that "one drop of venom will kill an elephant" only goes to show that these two are more interested in fame and sensationalism than responsibility to the community they represent. In the second video they even hand the hook to the TV host and let him hook the snake! Would YOU do that?

http://www.cbs.com/latenight/lateshow/video_player/index/php/945157.phtml

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMpStPdQcJI

I feel that we, as a community, need to make a strong statement that this is unacceptable, and may just effect your business.
 
umm.... wtf :eek_

ok so that video right there shows that:

A. the media is obviously wrong and exhaggerates the truth beyond what it really is.. as usual.

B. Jack Hannah nor Blob Clark shouldve allowed the host on FoxNews to attempt to hook a venomous snake (regardless of how dangerous it is) aka. Lack of responsibility.

C. Bob free-handling the cobra on national television really isnt all that smart.. there were too many what if's in that situation.. hell bob couldve been bit! Then what.. oops, that wasn't suppose to have happened... I personally think Dave was right when he said "Dont bring Bob back."

besides.. i figured Fluffy wouldve eaten bob by now...
 
oh my C. response was in regards to the Dave Letterman segment. sorry..
 
triton said:
it was kind of stupid,maybe it was a venemoid LOL.
Click to expand...

it was a venomoid and both of them knew it. the owner of the snake works for bob clark. the point is that they allowed everyone to believe it was hot, dangerous, deadly, etc. i'm sure hannah knew all the details but he was playing it up for entertainment.

just a hobby with no room for error. 1000 good things are overshadowed by one bad thing. take me for example, i received a $300 ticket for keeping an illegal species last may. no matter what i do from now on, that will be more important to most folks who read about it. not because of the severity of the situation, but because that's what people want to hear. it's why people stare at car wrecks when they drive by.

morbid curiosity

normal people don't want to hear the good things about snakes, they wanna hear about the accidents, they wanna see how dangerous they can be, etc.

that's why something like this is so bad.

not at all fair, but it's true.
 
I expect all that play acting from Jack Hanna, but Bob Clark is another story.

It makes me sad to hear all the recent rumors of snakes with the secret OPMV virus from his inventory that are hitting Ball Pythons in Texas, to him showing up at different Texas Expos with mites and snakes with no eyes from inbreeding.

How the mighty do fall.....

I always thought it would be a priviledge to one day own a Bob Clark snake now from all the rumors I hear it sounds like a death sentence to my collection.

I don't know if all those things are true about him, but it makes it easy to believe when I see his shameful behavior.
I have never met Bob Clark, never purchased anything from him but it makes me sad to see someone everyone looked up to at one time being talked about in such a manner...he appears to have earned it...

I am just plain sad over this......
 
I don't believe making the excuse that it's a venemoid makes any of it ok. A venemoid isn't guaranteed to stay non-venomous. Hasn't their been cases where the glands they remove surgically regenerate?

I think the main problem is (even if it is a venemoid) that it doesn't look very responsible to the community for a herpetologist to inappropriately handle a snake and allow someone (the host) who has NO experience to even attempt it.
 
I've spoke about this issue on other boards, here are my posts and thoughts copied and pasted.


POST #1
Good old jack and bob playing clowns on national TV representing the best of the best snake keepers around........


http://www.cbs.com/latenight/latesho...p/945157.phtml

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMpStPdQcJI


POST #2
I've got one or two emails from the bob fans out there and let me set something straight really quickly. I greatly respect Bob for what he's done for the hobby and reptile community in the past and years of work thats he's put into this industry. These clips however portray each and everyone of us like shumks in front of millions of people.

Fox and friends I believe was taped first, that hole incident was Jacks fault for letting Brain PLAY with a (what was described as a venomous animal that he clearly states was not a venomoid, however I believe it was and he was just lying) cobra....... How the two of them could leave that studio and not say that went terribly wrong, that we look like a bunch of clowns and did a terrible injustice to responsible reptile keepers is beyond me. HOW they could allow the same thing to happen TWICE is utterly irresponsible and tells me they were there to just get their faces on TV and show boat regardless of the repercussions.

I don't know whats worse, show boating to put your face on TV or truly not knowing what the hell your doing yet going on National TV claiming to be "the best herpetologist around"

Once an unfortunate mistake, twice = 100% loss of any and all respect I had for either one of them.

Conclusion
While an apology seems appropriate, it will never reach an audience that these two pathetic scenes have nor will it do any good. Bobs been around for in excess of 30 years, he of all should know the potential perils our industry faces and the way in which the media portrays us. He should know and act as a leader of the community, acting as a pillar of the industry rather than a bafoon.
 
TripleMoonsExotic said:
I don't believe making the excuse that it's a venemoid makes any of it ok. A venemoid isn't guaranteed to stay non-venomous. Hasn't their been cases where the glands they remove surgically regenerate?

I think the main problem is (even if it is a venemoid) that it doesn't look very responsible to the community for a herpetologist to inappropriately handle a snake and allow someone (the host) who has NO experience to even attempt it.
Click to expand...

no, a venomoid that has been properly operated on is 100% venom-free for life. that rumor started when hacks were "voiding" their snakes improperly and they never were venomoid to start with. the duct COULD reattach if that is all they do (sever it) but that's about as common as a woman who has her tubes "tied" becoming pregnant. possible but very rare. anyway, when properly done, they remove the whole gland so no, impossible in that case. its' an encapsulated organ. it would be the same as a heart being removed then growing back. very minor regeneration is one thing but total regeneration is a whole 'nother story.
 
Thanks for the info, Richard. I admittedly have NO experience with venomous or venomoid and based my statement by what I've read. ;)

The general public still has no knowledge that it wasn't venomous (if in fact it wasn't) and it's doubtful that they even know that's possible. Which still shows to the public that these "big guys" in this hobby/industry are not being responsible.
 
TripleMoonsExotic said:
Thanks for the info, Richard. I admittedly have NO experience with venomous or venomoid and based my statement by what I've read. ;)

The general public still has no knowledge that it wasn't venomous (if in fact it wasn't) and it's doubtful that they even know that's possible. Which still shows to the public that these "big guys" in this hobby/industry are not being responsible.
Click to expand...

all that matters is perception. facts don't mean a lot to anti-reptile people. they have an agenda, they take anything negative and use it as their proof.
 
Incidentally, just so everyone understands, I was raised to show respect for people who have earned and deserve it. I previously had plenty of respect for Mr. Clark for his vast number of years in herpetoculture and husbandry, and his numerous accomplishments.

However, this sort of selfish and self-absorbed, irresponsible behavior is a spit in the face of all of us in my opinion. He gets no respect from me at this point. As stated by someone else in this thread, one time is a mistake. Twice in a row shows he was too busy being a celebrity to take control and take a stand on facts and circumstances.

And to Jack Hanna...if you want someone to work with cobras for you during appearances I have plenty of my own, and will have a contract for you that requires that you sit your ass down and listen to some ACTUAL facts about the animal(s) you are presenting, what the **** will happen when I'm on stage in charge of this animal...and what won't happen. I'll keep every reptile keeper in the world from hating you, and keep you from sounding like a g** d*** moron to anyone who knows a thing about them.

Give me a call next time and, like Dave said, "Don't bring Bob back." :rolleyes:
 
stupid!!!!

:angry: frankly i think there actions were appalling! you have two well respected icons of the reptile industry acting like a bunch of damn fools. this is the kind of negative publicity that puts reptiles and owners on the chopping block. here we are trying to fight a bill that will band reptiles , sales and transport and you have these two jack a--es acting like this . frankly i agree these two need to apologize to the reptile world but they are to well known and rich to care what we think. mike schofield
 
reptilemike said:
you have two well respected icons of the reptile industry acting like a bunch of damn fools.
Click to expand...

When has Jack Hanna ever been a "respected icons of the reptile industry"? :confused:

Have you ever listened to him when he does appearances??? I have heard him spout more disinformation about more different types of animals than I can even recount at this point...and I'm no biologist or zoologist. He usually brings someone knowledgable, but he usually doesn't know jack crap about them. Yet that doesn't stop him from just vocalizing guesses. :rolleyes:
 
Jack Hanna's herp knowledge

Or lack of it is astounding! My nieces and nephews know more about herps just from hanging out with me. I have seen Letterman episodes where Dave asked Jack a question to have Jack turn around and ask the handler. Letterman comes off as knowing more than Jack does. :shootfoot
 
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