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Snake bite and the media
Snake Bites and the Press VS Online
For a long time Venomous keepers have been getting bitten it is an unfortunate and inherent risk that goes with keeping any animal even the cute puppies and cats many families have.
I have seen first hand how the media tends to over dramatize a venomous bite to the point it is slanderous and liable. The media likes to use “buzz words” such as Panic, Frantic, life threatening, serious condition and so on. Or they use phrases such as “frantic calls to 911 or frantic calls for antivenom”. These words like in any book you may purchase are designed to give feeling of grave circumstance and catch people’s eyes and imagination. In a since they are to scare the readers and make them want more.
In the media the average snake bite story is printed 1 day and then a follow up story a day or two later that is normally in print buried in the paper and if it does make the Video Press its at the end or bottom of the hour and maybe reported on again a few days later as to a update of the persons condition. But the bottom line is it is forgotten by the media and general public rather soon after the bite. With approximately 8000 venomous bite per year in the United States you would think we would hear more about snake bites! The fact and simple truth is we only hear about bites by keepers as this is what the media knows will get the general publics attention as these people keep these animals. Face it who really cares if Joe B was out camping and stepped on a snake and was bitten that’s not news unless it end in a fatality. Then again death is news!
However when a Keeper gets bitten we see it plastered all over reptile forums and even a few medical forums with hundreds of comments from persons who were not there, do not know the circumstances and have no clue about the bite or the keepers other then what they read in a very overly dramatic press account. No politician with a brain sites the press as a credible resource! Yet they now have literally hundreds if not thousands of other herp keepers on forums to read on. Hello people that small article in the press is now ongoing for several weeks and ALWAYS easy to find via a Web Search with all the “opinions” of people who had no clue about the bite. These opinion and the media account combined is a lot of information for people to use against the hobby.
Certainly the media reports can be accessed via the web search but 2 or 3 accounts from the media would be and normally will be dismissed yet thousands of post by keepers about it is great ammo for those wishing to stop or ban the hobby.
If a bite occurs everything should be done to prevent it from making the media. If it unfortunately does make the media then the people on forums should not post about it till the person who was bitten has a chance to tell the actual facts of the bite and the post bite situation. After they do people still should not post about it but learn from the accident and better themselves and their keeping safety practices and protocols. The bottom line is We as keepers of venomous reptiles need to try and make sure first the bite does not happen but when or if it does not to speculate or place our opinions for all to see without the facts of the accident. We are our own worse enemy by doing this and may make matters worse on our hobby!
I have also seen more press given to Escaped non-venomous reptiles especially big burms and retics as it is normally picked up by the AP and many national news media outlets. People are more afraid of the escaped monster running free in the area than the keeper who was bitten in his house or facility. These escapes and the people parading these animals around in public scare and cause more media generated sensationalism then any 20 hot bites to keepers and are thus far more a danger to our hobby. Everyone needs to respect the general publics fear or concern of snakes and do what we can to show RESPONCIBLE keeping. We as keepers of reptiles need to also not fall in to speculation and criticisms of our fellow keepers until we know ALL the facts of the accident.
Having a Post bite protocol is a must for any keeper. Here is mine as an example
1 Secure the animal in its cage.
2 Log exact time of bite
3 Log species
4 Alert Ray Hunter of this information
5 Alert Venom 1 with the same info
6 Get car keys, DNR, LIVING WILL and start to hospital
“if it’s a severe envenomation I have a fire station less than ½ mile from me drive there. I will have either venom 1 or ray hunter on the cell to properly instruct the paramedics of what needs to be done.
7 STAY CALM
I have run this protocol numerous times in dry practice and all 7 takes me less than 2 and even less if the animals in the cage at bite time, from bite to out the door. Remaining calm is the most important thing. From my door to the fire station I have also ran in dry run and its 3 minutes. Less than the response time for 911 to dispatch them.
That’s a basic synopsis of my post bite protocol. The people involved in it know all my details and even if they forgot I have my post bite book to refer to. Not one phase of my post bite will give the media any chance to hear about it. 911 is not an option for me as time is valuable and the 15 minutes or more it may take for them to respond and then start transport is wasted time. I am 15 minutes form a hospital and that’s 15 minutes of time and tissue saved!
Do you have a protocol?
Do you have a DNT?
Do you have a Living Will?
Have you practiced you post bite protocol?
Do you know where the nearest AV is to you?
Where is your local FD?
Do you have a back up person?
We spend so much time on our animals its important we spend some time on what happens if one of our animals spends some time on us.
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Scott Bice
WWW.THEREPTILEROOM.ORG
The worlds most deadly snake is the one you do not see.
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