I have to agree with Al on his post. Having posters of people freehandling venomoids can clearly send a wrong message. Imagine if someone was attending their first show looking to buy their first snake. They walk past a dealer's booth which is selling venomoids. They see a large poster of a guy freehandling a gaboon viper and remark about how beautiful the snake looks and then move along checking out other booths. A few booths down, they find a vendor selling hot gaboon vipers at a really low cost and notice that it is the same beautiful snake they had seen that guy holding on that poster earlier. They buy the snake and take it home. The dealer assumed that any one who would buy a gaboon was already familiar with the fact that it is hot and neglects to inform them of how dangerous it is. The buyer remembers the poster of a guy freehandling the same snake and thinks that he just bought a harmless non-venomous snake. The next day, the buyer decides to hold the snake just like that guy was doing in that poster and gets nailed by a hot snake. What kind of message do you think that would send to the public who already has a negative image of venomous keepers?



Even if the snake were a venomoid, a bite from it can have very serious consequences. Some snakes carry septic bacterium in their mouths which could cause gangrene. A bite like that might result in an amputated finger or even a hand. This would still have a negative impact on venomous keepers' reputations.



And by the way, Al never asked for a boycott of venomoid dealers at shows, he stated that there should be some responsibility on the part of dealers who sell them. Just like there are responsibilities for hot dealers, there should also be some guidelines for venomoid dealers as well.



Who in their right mind would want to buy a butchered venomoid any way? That's like buying a Corvette and having the engine removed because you are not responsible enough to drive such a fast car. If you are not responsible enough to own one, then don't get one.

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