Insurance IS an issue. Anyone can sue you unless everyone present signs some sort of legal waiver, and even then you might still be liable.

You could get sued for anything from a bite or wound to mental distress, to salmonella (even if your reptiles were not the cause).

I have done educational demos before, but was insured during it. How? My local herpetological society pays for an insurance policy for club activities. That way, any event that is a club-approved event is covered by the club's insurance.

For educational demos, I just have to let the club know where/when and other details about the demo, and agree to follow some common sense rules. Some rules we use are that a demonstrator should not hold a snake around their neck (so that attendees don't think it's "ok" to do that with a large snake), and that attendees should not be allowed to hold ANY animal. Petting or touching according to the demonstrator's guidance is ok... but allowing a person to completely hold an animal on their own can be risky. In our club at one demonstration, apparently one adolescent killed a snake by pulling its head and tail, breaking its neck. Insurance doesn't help in that situation (insurance only covers liability, not animals lives), but that event helped build our demo guidelines.

Unfortunately, this is a real concern, but most herp clubs have or can get insurance for a fairly low yearly premium. Better safe than sorry! There are still a lot of bad attitudes and paranoia out there regarding reptiles, and that makes it harder for people to educate others about them without taking on a lot of risks themselves.
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Lauren Madar - OphidiaGems.com | CageMakers
1.1 Ball Python, 1.0 Hog Island Boa, 1.1 Hypo BCI, 1.1 Surinam BCC, 1.1 Saharan Sand Boa

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