Venomous - to keep or not to keep

[infernalis]

I may get flamed down for this, BUT....

Here in the US you are required to have a license for a handgun, and improper handling of hots will kill you just as dead as the handgun will...

So I do feel that if a person desires keeping such animals, they should have to undergo the same strict requirements as owning a glock.

There is also that risk that if said snake were to escape in a multi family dwelling or a populated neighborhood... I don't think I need say anymore.

YES - certain people with common sense and some education can properly care for venomous snakes, but by the same token, anyone with some money can have a cobra delivered to their front door in 24 hours with a single paypal transaction.

And not exactly all of the people who can click a mouse and enter a bank account number have the common sense or intelligence to handle the animal they just bought.

The worst case scenario for a fool with a python is the snake winds up dead.. The worst case scenario with a hot is a human winds up dead.

Sure, there would be one less fool on the planet to reproduce and spread that stupid gene, however it's the innocent bystanders (children, neighbors, spouse) that I care about.