Bill Haast was a true legend and pioneer in the herp world.
Florida snake expert dies at 100
MIAMI -- Florida snake expert Bill Haast has died. He was 100.
His wife Nancy says Haast died Wednesday evening.
Haast remained director of Miami Serpentarium Laboratories near Punta Gorda until his death. The original Miami Serpentarium, located south of Miami, was in operation from 1947 to 1984. Guests would pay admission to watch Haast extract venom from snakes. Haast, a pioneer in extracting large quantities of venom for research, began the practice when he was a boy.
Haast moved to Utah in 1984 but returned to Florida six years later. That's when he opened the new Punta Gorda facility, which continues to produce snake venom for medical and research use.
Soon after opening the Serpentarium, Haast began injecting himself with different types of cobra venom in order to develop immunity.
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