I understand your point about the over-population problem, but if an owner is responsible, then they won't allow their pets to breed, unless it's intentional, and they will just have to accept any negative behaviors that unfixed animals tend to have. Just the same as if a hot owner is responsible, he won't be bit and will accept the fact that this snake can kill him. But sometime people just want to make life a little simpler and take those precautions, so in a way, it is similar... "butchering" an animal to remove a natural, yet undesired trait or ability. But the fact of the matter is that spay/neuter is a widely accepted and often encouraged course of action. So why shouldn't surgery on a snake be just as widely accepted. Do you think people have their dogs neutered for it's own good? No, they do it to remove undesirable traits and to eliminate the possibilities of future generations suffering due to over-population issues. It is just like any other animal, the custodian is to determine what is in its or their own best interest.

Like anything in this world, I do believe it should be done by someone skilled and competent enough to do the surgery correctly without harming the snake. But there will always be garage hacks out there, just as there will be fake doctors, and crappy auto mechanics. There's just not much that can be done to stop it. A buyer just has to be smart enough to avoid buying a snake like that so hopefully the hacks will crawl back into the woodwork.

Many people argue that it is cruel to do it to a snake, but the fact of the matter is, that a venomoid will still strike moving prey and will still bite in defense, which would lead one to believe that the snake does not know what happened to it. It goes to sleep, it wakes up with a sore head, it heals, and it goes on. Is it cruel to have your ferret go to sleep, wake up with a sore ass, heal and go on.....go on not smelling as bad? If you think that is cruel, then you should direct your energy at the millions of ferret owners instead of the handful of venomoiders.

Many antivoiders say that if you can't handle a hot, then you shouldn't have one. I was lucky enough to have a local mentor to teach me the ropes and I am proud to say that I have handled thousands of rattlesnakes, and a few other hots, and have never been bitten, or even come close. But many people may not have the mentor option, therefore a venomoid may be a good place to start as the snake is going to act the same no matter what.

What about those, such as in the original post here, that may not be able to do education with hots due to liability reasons? We all know that it can be done safely even with hots and that it is administrators ignorance making the rules. But why not use a venomoid if it makes the difference?

Now what I don't agree with is people wanting venomoids so they can look cool holding a rattlesnake and to show off. But I don't believe anyone should own any animal just for that purpose. Then again, it's going to happen whether we like it or not.

This post is running a bit long, so I will conclude by saying that there are many legitamate reasons to have a venomoid snake. And, there are a few not so legit reasons. This is no different than owning a 15' python, a 10' gator, or even a pit bull. I see no reason to condemn all venomoids and those who keep them based on the few bad apples. To me, that is akin to the bias in many laws prohibiting exotics because there are a few idiots out there ruining it for all the legitimate keepers.
Ok, there's my thoughts for the night, flame on.....

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