Question about snake show with tiger snakes

[cement]

Allowing children from grade 1 and 2 to physically touch elapids is just plain stupid and irresponsible.
Regardless of the outcome, the demonstrator should not have incorporated this part into his show.
Most adults wouldn't take the opportunity to touch them, but kids that young have no idea.
Mine have grown up with snakes but, random kids in a school is a different story and they HAVE to be kept a safe distance at all times during a demo.
The parent here has every right to try and get some rules in place and to let the demonstrator know how he as a parent feels about his shows. In any case, he's not over the top, he just wants the hands on bit removed from the demonstration and I am with him on that.
Better the demonstrator finds out like this, then after a story from the newspaper (if a kid was bitten it would be on every tv channel) and then we would all be ********D.

 

[kawasakirider]

I can't believe so many people in this thread have such a blasé attitude in regards to this situation.

It was a venomous snake, in a situation that if it went pear shaped, almost certainly would have bitten someone out of fear. A classroom full of children allowed to crowd around a fella holding a tiger snake? *** happens if the handler trips, his hand spasms or anything?

I'm astonished that people have had the hide to knock this bloke for trying to get to the root cause of the issue and make someone accountable. On top of it all, he's not blaming the handler (who in my opinion is a bloody retard) but looking for someone higher up to just get the regulations changed.

These are silly little children in a confined space with an agitated and lethal animal. He has grounds to sue for negligence, at 9 am all the way through 3 pm students enter the care of people acting under loco parentus, they failed.


Wake up.

 

[veenarm]

He is a professional handler, there is nothing wrong with what he did.

As for the school however, maybe it could of been more pro-active to get parents opinion or permission slips prior to touching any of the animals seeing as how schools get cracked down on a lot now.

Every parent will have a different view, If something bad did go wrong at least you had someone who would know exactly what to do!

Pythons can be just as bad if they grab a hold of the kids arm etc...

It's just as bad as kids walking across the street with out supervision so come on cut the handler some slack - It's his lively hood and he does it for a profession, if you they didn't believe in his credentials he wouldn't of done it

Do you know who made the road outside your house? it could cave in at any moment (mostly due to water but you get the point) but that person isn't there to take responsibility for it now.

In any event this is one of those things that could go on for ages - peoples opinions vary greatly but at the end of the day, its him and the school that are liable and the children/parents the victim if something goes wrong, and it only takes 1 thing to go awfully wrong to have the entire teaching of snakes revoked in classrooms.

 

[kawasakirider]

He did do something wrong.

He allowed children (not consenting adults) to pat a venomous snake with no regard for the possible outcomes (however remote they may have been).

 

[Waterrat]

I haven't heard of any case where a child was bitten by a venomous snake during school demonstrations. However, I have heard of lunatics walking into s calss room with a gun .... and you know what. So, do we put security guards into every class room? Which of the two scenarios if more likely to happen? Hopefully none.
Of course there is the big "but what IF" and the regulators ride on this. This worlds is over-regulated to buggary as it is - live you life and have some faith in professionals.

 

[kawasakirider]

I haven't heard of any case where a child was bitten by a venomous snake during school demonstrations. However, I have heard of lunatics walking into s calss room with a gun .... and you know what. So, do we put security guards into every class room? Which of the two scenarios if more likely to happen? Hopefully none.
Of course there is the big "but what IF" and the regulators ride on this. This worlds is over-regulated to buggary as it is - live you life and have some faith in professionals.

The difference is any idiot can walk into a school with a gun, or even a venomous snake.

The school let this happen.

 

[cement]

This worlds is over-regulated to buggary as it is - live you life and have some faith in professionals.

You know what Michael, where kids are concerned, trust and faith in anybody else is difficult. Professionals or not.
Nothing happened, no kid was harmed.
The handler might be the best snake man in the world, and it could have been venomoid, but the parents don't know this.
Snakes and people do not have good relations at the best of times, I have talked about this before in other threads and all this parent wants (from what I read here) is for that part to be illiminated from his show. Nothing more.
I don't want to hear of a case of a kid being bitten at a school show, because the ramifications to elapid keepers and demonstrators country wide would be affected.
If its ok to do it with a tiger then its ok to do it with a taipan, or do we draw a line there somewhere?

 

[Waterrat]

Fair enough. The bit I didn't like, was blaming the state. Problems are more easily resolved with out without blaming someone or something. That was my gripe.
Please don't take this personally, but in MO, some, if not many, parents are very good at blaming others, the system, the school, the state ... whatever, for their child's failures and inadequacies.

 

[moosenoose]

Please no RH bashing.

Who is RH? ......8)

 

[Craig2]

I was under the same impression bigguy..
Always what i was lead to believe about tassie

 

[veenarm]

He did do something wrong.

He allowed children (not consenting adults) to pat a venomous snake with no regard for the possible outcomes (however remote they may have been).

He was employed by the school to do it, He would of had to of told the school what he was doing before it was approved. Therefore it was the schools fault, not his own.
*If however he didn't mention that he was going to do this, then that would I assume be a breach of some law anyway, and yes then he is in the wrong.

 

[prettypython]

Please forgive me if this question has been answered. If the handler had a nippy python why not restrain the nippy python the same way he restrained the elapid so if crap happened, like it does, their may have only been a need for a tissue insted of an ambulance trip and a hospital stay?

 

[MrFireStorm]

then that would I assume be a breach of some law anyway, and yes then he is in the wrong.

At preseant there is no law or regulation restricting the "touching" of venomous snakes in Tasmania. Restriction 4 of "Permit For Display Of Wildlife" states "that wildlife is not handled by the public".
This DOES NOT include or restrict "touching" of wildlife. It is restricted to only "sole person" handling without the wildlife being under the control of the demonstrator.