(I live in the US, so this post and reference to law makers/the hobby is very US centric. Keep that in mind as you read, please)
Let's pull back and take a look at -how- the free handling was approached when it came to Steve.
At the beginning of each of his shows, there were several warnings posted, telling viewers how dangerous what he was doing was, not to try it at home, and that he is a trained professional with years of experience and access to anti venom. These warnings were repeated several times through out the the episode, both by Steve himself and the narrator. The animals were treated with respect, he would often avoid the head being to close to him, and he did it to show the lack of maliciousness of these animals. He also had an entire crew with him, so if he were to get bit he could be transported for treatment quickly and efficiently. His entire goal was education, not clout.
Free handling keepers nowadays (A majority of the time) do not have any warnings on their free handling photos and videos. They post selfies with these dangerously venomous animals as if it's the most normal thing for regular people to handle them. There's nothing saying that it's dangerous, that it should only be done by professionals, etc. This encourages people who post on the internet for clout to try this, because it gets them attention. These people regularly have the faces of the animals close to their body, and in their hands, again, with no 'do not try this at home' warnings. Just photos as if the animal is not venomous.
In a lot of places, training is not required to own venomous animals. You can go online, buy a venomous snake, and often times the person selling the venomous snake won't even ask questions. Dangerous animals are easier than ever to get a hold of, which makes the nonchalance of free handlers even more dangerous. It's not about putting themselves in danger, it's about encouraging others to do the same. Often time these venomous keepers that freehandle do so alone, with no one else around. In the event of a bite, the person may not be able to transport themselves to a hospital for treatment. They often also don't have anti venom on hand.
A free handler getting bitten and dying can put the entire reptile keeping hobby in danger because the vast majority of people who write laws, know nothing about the difference in species. They do not care if the snakes are venomous or not, they will see that someone died from a snake bite, see all snakes and go 'this is dangerous' whether it be a corn snake or a cobra.
turnnoffyourmind
romaincrisis
prguitarman
kianamaiart
