What percentage of HOT keepers are actually qualified?

[pet_snake_78]

I doubt most people will ever be fully prepared and what would that mean, anyway? Having AV, life support systems, and doctors on premise? I mean we can never be fully prepared for anything. We don't drive racecars to work just in case we hit a wall. We don't wear bullet proof vests when hunting. We all accept some risks. I guess with venomous keepers it's not different. Some people keep species they know they cannot access AV for. Some people know they should always use tools but insist on free handling. I don't agree with the philosophy that we must always protect people from themselves. Ultimately, it's their lives, their choices. A foriegn concept in the current nanny state of affairs, but that's how I feel. So for me, I know people keeping cobras and such who have had no training at all in towns where they aren't allowed to do so and the people have always been OK but there's always a risk and the actions some take greatly increase that risk. I do think that training should be available and that keeping hots is best done legally, but the current state of affairs leads me to believe there's always going to be a lot of back alley type deals with these snakes in areas where permits are not available and people who won't bother even where they are.