Improving Public Perception of Keeping Snakes

[bcr229]

Is there anyone with the time to create a positive campaign for keeping reptiles, especially larger snakes? It would be great if there were something positive we could share on social media that helps dispel some of the misruths and lies used to hurt our community. I already share lots of stuff from national geographic and similar pages on Facebook. Propaganda and fear mongering can be countered.

I want to address this in its own thread because it's too important to get lost in the USARK vs USFWS lawsuit discussion. I believe that H$U$ will bring pressure on states and localities to "do something" about the "public safety issue" of keeping exotic pets in the near future. Public perception will play a huge role in how effective we are in countering attacks on our hobby.

USARK is great BUT it's not a large, well-funded organization that can mount a nationwide PR campaign. Also, as a 501c3 charity it is legally limited in its "activism" activities. Most other special interest groups have at least three associated corporations: a 501c3 charity for fighting legal battles and/or engaging in public education, a 501c4 for lobbying, and a political action committee (PAC) for endorsing candidates for office and donating to election campaigns. Since there is no nationwide group with the resources to focus on improving public perception of reptile owners and ownership at the moment, it's up to each of us to do our part.

So, I'm going to throw out some ideas that require nothing more than a little time to implement based on my own experiences. If you have any other ideas to add please post them! Note that these are things we can do day-to-day, over and above reacting to USARK alerts, signing petitions, calling legislators, voting "pro pet", writing letters to the editor based on current events, etc.

Sharing good information from respected, well-research sources on social media is a great way to reach a lot of people. Also, if you do see propaganda in your own news feed and you dispute it, remember that you can "disagree without being disagreeable". The person who engages in name-calling and personal attacks loses the argument.

I've seen some group admins on Facebook add rules about no live-feeding videos and no nasty-looking bite photos. I would discourage you from posting these on your own FB walls as well. We know that live feedings (especially with picky ball pythons) and the occasional nip are part and parcel of owning snakes, but it's not necessarily something your friends and family want to see pop up from you on their own news feed. Plus, I'm sure most reptile groups contain PETA-philes who will save these off for later use against the reptile hobby.

Outside of social media (yes, life outside of the Internet does exist) there are ways to gently steer family, friends, and coworkers away from thinking that reptiles are nasty/evil/bad/etc. Doing so requires you be open, though not obnoxiously so, about the fact that you keep reptiles as pets. I've noticed that most folks keep quiet about their collections, whether they have one snake or hundreds, and that has to change if we're to be seen as mainstream. You don't have to go on... and on... and on... about your pet snakes (like some people do about their kids or dogs) but you shouldn't be afraid to talk about them either.

I'll give an example from my cube farm / work environment. Usually my computer desktop is covered with the applications I'm using, but when those are closed, or when I'm away at meetings so my screen saver is up, my display shows some of the rather awesome snake photos that my husband has taken. Similarly my mouse pad has a picture of my daughter with one of our ball pythons. People walking by can't help but see them. So, my coworkers know I keep snakes. Also, other coworkers have mentioned they have snakes, but they told me only because they saw my pictures, and were otherwise too scared of being thought of as "weird" if people found out!

Another example is that we do take our larger boas and retics outside in our front yard for exercise. We're in a quiet single-family home subdivision with minimal foot traffic so it's rare that someone stops to look at the critters, but when they do the reactions have all been positive. The kids especially are enamored with them, and some are now bugging their parents to get a pet snake.

Obviously this isn't an option if you live in an apartment complex with a shared/common ground for residents. I also wouldn't recommend taking your snake to public areas such as parks, stores, etc. unless specifically invited.

I also have to give kudos to the person in this thread - http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...-the-Lacey-Act - for using the opportunity to educate her teacher and classmates.

[Reinz]

Great points and examples bcr!

[Marrissa]

I actively dispel any myths that FB friends may share involving snakes and other reptiles. It has helped to educate several individuals who didn't know better.

I also casually let slip the snakes/rats in conversations. Oftentimes people who have known me for a bit are floored that I own and breed them. There seems to be this kind of "freak" stigma associated with snakes. And me being a (mostly) normal individual who owns and breeds these different animals really sparks their interest. I have also turned many family members and friends (and friends of friends as a result) around to snakes by just having them. They ask questions. Eventually they want to see them and often they eventually want to touch and hold them.

I will admit that I do not take my snakes out in the front. I also make sure my younger siblings know to not let the neighbors become aware of me owning snakes or the rat shed. I just am too scared of someone freaking out and starting a snowball effect. Yes I am legally allowed to have them. But I don't want anyone to know that I have them right next door to them for fear of people getting zoning and such changed or something.

I wish we had the money for some commercials showcases reptiles in a positive light.

I think we should at least create a bunch more photos to share on FB about the truth about snakes and the positive experiences. People usually won't read paragraphs written but will view the photos with short captions written on them.

[piedpipper]

Very well said bcr! And thanks for the shoutout.

One thing that I have noticed with people is that many are willing to change their minds about snakes.

For instance, I have over 10 snakes and whenever people come over for get-togethers or parties at my house we always have to take multiple trips down to the snake room to show everyone the snakes. The kids especially (who have not had as much time to soak in the misconceptions of our society) will often want to hold the snakes and after a few visits, even the ones who were deathly afraid before will hold a snake.

Its not as easy changing the minds of adults but even so, I feel better about at least getting some of their facts straight. (One time, I had someone TELL me that my adult ball python was a baby and that it was going to grow to be 20 ft long )

Needless to say even though many people that know my family still don't necessarily LIKE the snakes, they certainly are no longer afraid of them and many of them will join the group of excited kids coming to see the snakes downstairs.

Not being afraid to talk about your snakes is big. I can't tell you how many times I've constructively argued why snakes CAN be pets and why they are NOT dangerous when the owner is responsible. Although not everyone will admit they are wrong, knowing your facts and arguing effectively but politely can change a lot of people's perceptions. (One of my favorite bits of fun fact is that every year on average more people are killed in the US by vending machines than by any snakes - venomous included)

[JodanOrNoDan]

Here is my 2 cents. There are at least two sides to this issue. There are the animals themselves and the people that keep them. The snake keeping community would have to decide on the public face they want to present. This not only means the way they present their animals but the way they present themselves. This means no matter how well you present your snakes in public, if you look like you come from the fringes of society your pets will be looked upon that way. I personally do not judge people on anything other than their brains and their actions but most of the world frankly does not work that way. Some of the biggest names in the business present themselves in public looking like they just rolled out of bed or they are a leftover from a failed rock band. I respect their knowledge immensely however as entertaining and educational as it is, we as a group are not being served by the public seeing some long haired, tattooed guy wrestling a reticulated python with blood running down his arm.

The other thing we have to recognize is that snakes are not for everyone especially the giants. Industry self regulation is the key here. In my opinion the sellers should make some attempt to establish if a person is getting in over their heads. It is better to pass up a sale in the short term than to eventually not have the opportunity to make a sale at all.

[distaff]

I hang out with my snakes on the front porch. We don't get much traffic; I don't think anyone has ever noticed. A few of the neighbours know because I've told them. This area is pretty much live-and-let-live.

I probably do look like one of those people "on the fringes of society," however. I have long straggly waist-length hair, I'm always in a skirt, but the entire wardrobe is from the thrift store, and gets pretty shabby. I couldn't care less about appearances.

[chilliscale]

Right across the river from me you get fined, animals confiscated and treated like a criminal for any constrictors. Sad how bad the media has misjudged this one....even a kenyan sand boa is dangerous to authority in iowa

[Coluber42]

I wasn't ever in the habit of taking/posting lots of photos of my old corn snake or BP, basically because when I got them taking pictures meant finding the camera, putting film in it, getting the film developed, etc; and showing them to people meant convincing someone to come over and look at your photo album.

But when my corn snake died this winter at the age of 18, I posted about it on Facebook and got nothing but sympathy. Maybe I won over some snake skeptics, by posting about him the way everyone posts about a beloved pet who dies; and because I'd bought a baby snake as a teenager but then amazingly enough, it lived for 18 years without getting big enough to swallow someone's dog. (plus I'm a classical musician and have no tattoos! )

I've posted about my new baby BP a few times since too, and hope that I've won over a few that way, too. Partly because a baby BP is just cuter than cute... but also because if someone says "OMG python, just wait until it gets huge!" I can explain that BP's don't actually get that big, and even a large adult basically can't do much real damage to a human - a rabbit or even a rat can inflict a worse bite, not to mention a cat or dog.

That said, I do wish it were harder to buy the larger species such as burms and retics. Those are animals that really do get big enough to hurt someone, and are fairly demanding to keep as adults just on account of their size. And every idiot who does something heinous with a retic makes it harder to convince skeptics that ball pythons are actually safe and harmless. I have no problem with regulating animals that really are dangerous and/or highly demanding to care for.

But part of the public education picture is teaching people that there are many kinds of snakes, constrictors, pythons, boas, etc, just like there are many species of cats and many species of primates. A Kenyan sand boa isn't going to grow up into a 20-foot retic any more than a house cat is going to grow up to be a tiger. When people realize that snakes are just animals like every other animal, they're maybe more inclined to be tolerant.

I remember around the time I got my first BP when I was 13 or 14, my stepmother said something like, "Well OK, but I still don't quite understand why you want an invertebrate as a pet". My stepmother is a smart lady with a PhD (in the humanities, not science), from an educated family, etc; but it never occurred to her that snakes are even vertebrates. I think it's unfortunately common that people just don't know really basic things about snakes; but when they learn even just a little, it helps demystify them.

[Jabberwocky Dragons]

These are all good points but don't address the elephant in the room. I believe public perception is irrelevant when exotic keepers can't even stand united among themselves.

I've lost count of times I've read reptile owners actively call for larger exotics to be banned or regulated out of private possession. I've lost track of times I've read ball python and bearded dragon owners call for bans or severe licensing restrictions on large boids and venomous.

The endgame of HSUS and PETA is divide and conquer. They will split the exotic owners apart and go after each group piecemeal until their goals are achieved. They see no difference between your ball python and a burmese or a leopard gecko and a bobcat. I've been over it before and don't want to rehash now so let's just say that there are already plenty of laws in force, such as animal cruelty, negligence, liability, etc., that could be used to destroy irresponsible owners, there is no regulation needed. When a fellow exotic animal owner says licenses are needed to own a tiger or a rectic, these activists are jumping up and down with joy. What they heard is exotic owners are divided and there will be no real resistance.

I remember when the animals were released in Ohio and bp keepers were saying we need to ban or license the larger exotics or our bps will be at risk. Your bps are already at risk. There is nothing you can do to take away their desire to take away your bp. Not one thing. By rolling over and throwing others under the bus, you have enabled PETA and HSUS to come even closer to taking your bp.

Again these are all great points and worth trying for increasing beneficial public perception, but for me at least, the overriding question/cloud is how can we expect the general public to support exotic animal ownership when we as a community won't come together to support it ourselves?

[Rob]

We will always be fighting an uphill battle that we won't win with public perception. People will always fear snakes. The battle we need to be worried about and can win with solid scientific proof is with the law makers.


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