Animal Planet to air "Investigative series"

I miss Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom. *sigh*

Oh I remember that show from when I was a little kid...every Sunday!!

The only nature shows I will watch are those by Jeff Corwin, Steve Irwin, and David Attenborough.

Most likely, HSUS gave a boatload of cash to Animal Planet to do this show. So they can pretty much say whatever they want on the air, because Average Joe Shmoe Dog-lover that watches that channel won't know jack about the reptile trade, and won't be able to tell that they're full of crap. :(

Actually, I thought the segment with the Burmese was ok. The snake WAS large enough to be potentially dangerous to someone handling it alone. The person who was taking care of the animal made a common feeding mistake--virtually everyone is going to make one at some point. He paid the usual price for it. He had someone else present, the snake was not injured--they even made mention that the method used to remove it was not the safest idea for the snake, and made a different recommendation (albeit not one I would have used).

They correctly identified the reason the snake made the mistake, and why it could be dangerous with large constrictors. The guy who was bitten did NOT blame the snake, and the snake was fine and was maintained in good health afterward.

I was actually pretty please with the whole thing--it's a good caution to those maintaining giants, it was barely oversensationalized, and the end result was the guy had a few cuts that healed up fine--no big deal.

I think the reptile community should propose a show on reptile and exotic pet care to Animal Planet. They have shows on cat and dog breeds, shows on dog training, etc. Why not a show on how to care for reptiles, amphibians, birds, and small exotics?
It needs to be well-written, it needs to be interesting and informative, and if it were accepted, it would be great for us as a community. It would allow us to get OUR side of the story out there, and it would help to reduce some of the problems that really DO exist in the reptile nation--such as under-informed people buying animals at pet stores, and then neglecting them due to ignorance of their needs.

Just one national show on how reptiles should truly be cared for would demonstrate how easy it is, and it would reduce abuse and neglect of these animals by magnitudes. It would refute the claims of HSUS and other AR groups about reptile keeping. Animal Planet MAY carry the show, because it's an opportunity to show off some interesting animals being handled up close--people like to see close-ups of critters they may not have seen before.