Riverina snake handler Jake Cullen has warned people to stay away from snakes after a fatal incident in North West NSW recently.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Mr Cullen’s reminder follows an incident near Tamworth where a man died after being bitten by a brown snake.
“You’ve got more chance of being bitten if you try and kill them,” Mr Cullen said.
Mr Cullen operates Riverina Reptile Relocation and has moved about 60 reptiles including Eastern Brown and Red Belly Black snakes around the district so far this summer. He said snakes generally aren’t aggressive towards humans and are more likely to run away than to attack.
Mr Cullen is also a registered reptile breeder and does talks on construction sites to help raise awareness of snakes and lizards. He wants to bring those talks to schools so students can gain an appreciation of native reptiles.
“We want people to have respect for native wildlife, snakes can be dangerous if you don’t have respect for them,” Mr Cullen said.
