# Not a good advert for the hobby.



## cagey (Jun 23, 2019)

https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news...s/news-story/a674f090d2fd7f64908d130f85d7438f


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## BrettJ (Jun 23, 2019)

Really ?? why i thought it is quite a good story not really news but hey its adelaide after all. 
I fail to see how its not a good advert ?


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## Sdaji (Jun 23, 2019)

BrettJ said:


> Really ?? why i thought it is quite a good story not really news but hey its adelaide after all.
> I fail to see how its not a good advert ?



How about if we paraphrase it in the way a typical person (as opposed to herp lovers) will typically interpret and respond to it?

'If your friends or neighbours or people in your community have pet reptiles, they'll probably have literally deadly species which they will take for walks in public. They are crazy and reckless. We should oppose the keeping of these pets, it should not be allowed, it endangers the community. People should keep proper pets like cats, dogs and goldfish like good, respectable citizens.'


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## cagey (Jun 23, 2019)

BrettJ said:


> Really ?? why i thought it is quite a good story not really news but hey its adelaide after all.
> I fail to see how its not a good advert ?
> 
> 
> Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk




My concern is, as Sdaji said, the perception of non-herpers re someone taking ven snakes out in an open space. It iis the perception or irresponsible behaviour.


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## Stuart (Jun 23, 2019)

I agree cagey, that's not the type of image we want the hobby to have and see. One mishap and suddenly this goes from a quirky event to the end of the world.


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## dragonlover1 (Jun 23, 2019)

cagey said:


> My concern is, as Sdaji said, the perception of non-herpers re someone taking ven snakes out in an open space. It iis the perception or irresponsible behaviour.


You are right unfortunately, he should have done it in his back yard where no PC freaks could see it. 
It wouldn't have mattered if it was a childrens python, non reptile people would see it as a threat


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## Nero Egernia (Jun 23, 2019)

I agree it's potentially dangerous, if not inconsiderate.

Many have a crippling fear of snakes and taking them out in public for "walkies" where anything could happen is a very selfish and reckless thing to do. According to a number of websites ophidiophobia (the fear of snakes) is ranked among the top ten phobias that can afflict people. I'm sure the reptile keepers mentioned in the article didn't mean to cause any harm, but pet owners have a responsibility. This may be an unpopular opinion, but it's comparable to people taking their dogs out in public. Cynophobia (the fear of dogs) also ranks among the top ten phobias. Can you imagine going out for a walk, minding your own business, and then suddenly becoming overcome by an irrational (and in some cases, rational) and paralyzing fear? It's a horrible feeling and it can take a long time to recover.

Empathy is key here. Surprisingly, many pet owners appear to be lacking. Just because we love our pets and have no fear of them, doesn't mean others share our feelings. I see it all the time on Facebook where reptile keepers are mocking a family member, friend, acquaintance, or a rental inspector on their fear of reptiles. Sure, it's mildly amusing because we know - for the most part - that our pets are harmless. They don't.


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## nuttylizardguy (Jun 24, 2019)

Hope he's got a very good insurance policy just in case someone gets too close and gets nailed by the snake and ends up in hospital (or worse).

But then the same applies to dogs and other potentially dangerous pets that get to go walkies.


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## Sdaji (Jun 24, 2019)

I think there's a significant difference between your own front yard and the local park or shopping centre, and an actually harmless animal and a legitimately potentially deadly animal. Do whatever you like in your own back yard, I think we'd all agree with that. Opinions may vary about playing with a python in your own front yard, opinions may vary about taking a harmless snake to a park or shopping centre (almost exclusively when people do this it's for narcissistic reasons, as it clearly was in the topic of this thread, not that narcissism is entirely bad), but taking a deadly snake to a place where the public may interact with it without their choice is completely irresponsible. If you really must take one to a park for photographs etc, at least do it discretely, don't advertise what you're doing, don't merrily go on telly doing it.

Despite the myth herpers spew that humans have no natural fear of snakes, the reality is that most humans do have a genetic predisposition to fear snakes. Snakes naturally kill more humans than any other animal (unless you include diseases from mosquitoes, which pushes snakes to #2), so it makes perfect sense that it's in our DNA to fear them. For the sake of our public image we need to keep this in mind. And, potentially deadly species are literally potentially deadly. When faced with snakes, terrified humans act unpredictably as do dogs etc, and this does pose an actual danger.


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