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THE PROVINCE (Vancouver, British Columbia) 13 December 07 Editorial: Snake-bite victim makes good case for import ban on dangerous 'pets' (Alan Ferguson)
My first instinct was to feel sympathy for poor Jason Hansen, who risks losing his middle finger after being bitten by his "pet," a five-year-old poisonous snake called Eve.
Mind you, I'm a tad suspicious of folks who choose for company animals capable of killing them.
Perhaps, they experience some strange frisson of excitement at the thought of being eaten alive.
And my sympathy turned to alarm as Hansen started to blame everyone but himself for his plight.
He says that if the government allows poisonous creatures into the country it also has an obligation to provide medicines to protect their owners.
It is true that the government has inexplicably failed to act on legislation to curb the ownership of exotic animals, particularly after a 32-year-old woman was mauled to death by a "pet" Siberian tiger near 100 Mile House earlier this year.
But it's stretching logic to argue that scarce public health dollars should be budgeted to cater to the tiny minority of citizens who voluntarily put themselves at risk from wild animals.
The 36-year-old amateur herpetologist is also up in arms over the refusal by his doctors to administer an anti-venom concoction he had got from a pal up north.
"If they would have given it to me at the time," our hero grumbled to Province reporter Jack Keating, "I wouldn't be sitting here with a black finger and no flesh on it . . . my arm has basically been mutilated."
The problem is that by Hansen's own admission Eve's bite was "dry" -- that is, no actual venom was released, just nasty toxins mingled with the snake's saliva.
According to staff at the B.C. Poison Control Centre, injecting him with his friend's anti-venom supply would have been medically futile.
Even if it wasn't, the doctors would have had to be sure the serum was safe -- which they were not, since I'm told the batch was already three years beyond its expiry date.
But what has Hansen to say?
"I'm pretty upset about the whole thing. I think [the doctors] kind of let me down a bit," he told Keating from Surrey Memorial Hospital.
These are the doctors who spent hours operating on his damaged finger in a gallant effort to save it.
You begin to wonder what else has got under Hansen's skin.
For all his wrath -- and undoubted pain -- he is the architect of his own misfortune.
He took a calculated risk in acquiring a snake he likens to a "wild beast."
And he has run up a big public medical bill for treatment necessitated by his careless handling of it.
It is true the government has let Hansen down.
It should long ago have passed legislation to protect him, and others like him, from their own follies.
Exotic, unpredictable pets don't belong in the home.
It would benefit the beasts, not to mention their incautious owners, if they were banned tomorrow.
Snake-bite victim makes good case for import ban on dangerous 'pets'

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Typical response to sucha scenario....ban exotics for everyone because an idiot behaved like an idiot....

I seldom hear people say "The guy was an idiot, so in an effort to curb guys like this from injuring or killing themselves, we're recommending a permit system." Most people are too simple minded to consider that the idea of personal freedoms need not be infringed in all cases....

Should we really expect anything else?

-AzAtrox

you have to realize this is in canada where they have a public health care system. What this means is that whenever a person does something stupid like get bit by an animal that they choose to keep, the rest of the public has to pay for it. It is not like the health insurance that we have here in the states, he cannot opt out of the coverage the government provides him. his decision to keep these animals does effect the rest of the country to point of building up a medical bill of close to if not over $100k. I guess I'm one of the few that does not see keeping venomous reptiles as a right but a priviledge. with priviledge comes responsiblity. the responsibility to not get bitten, to provide 100% secure cages, 100% secure rooms and being responsible enough to have your own antivenom that is not out of date. If you cannot afford to have antivenom for each species of animals you keep, then you shouldn't keep that animal. But hey what do I know, I can't afford to keep venomous anymore as I wouldn't want to short some zoo of their supply of antivenom should I mess up and get bitten.
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Josh & Krysty Hutto
J&K Reptiles

Various Ball Pythons, boas, dogs, cats, fish, an amel tiger retic female, a couple sulcatas and a few other odds and ends.

a BAD dog is MADE not bred, support the American Pit Bull Terrier as the greatest breed of dogs on Earth!!!!!