Claims by the DSE in
a media release dated 5 August 2011, that Snake Man Raymond Hoser put members
of the public at risk during reptile shows are totally false.
Hoser was convicted the
day prior for breaches of his DSE licence conditions after DSE changed the rules
without telling Mr. Hoser, however these did not involve safety issues.
In 2007, Hoser was
told to purchase a barrier to use as a pit for displaying venomous snake
species, which he did. The barrier Hoser spent $5,000 on was exactly as
instructed by then DSE head Ron Waters and essentially the same as what all
other wildlife displayers in Victoria use.
In court in February this
year, DSE changed their mind and as the government were given this right, Hoser
was convicted of not using a correct barrier, even though at no time had DSE
put in writing what they (now) wanted.
In a County Court
appeal this week, Judge Campton was scathingly critical of the way DSE
effectively entrapped Hoser into breaching unwritten rules and told them to put
what they want in writing so Mr. Hoser can comply with whatever they demand in
the future.
Campton also said she
would publish her judgement.
Importantly however,
Hoser was convicted on a technical offence in terms of the construction of the
barrier and the judge stressed he was NOT convicted because of any safety risk
at his particular company’s shows.
Compton went further and pointed out that Hoser and his conmpany
Snakebusters could not have put people at risk of venomous snake bites at his
shows because all his snakes had been surgically devenomized and were therefore
safe.
At no stage was
Hoser, his Snakebusters staff or any member of the public ever put at risk of
venomous snakebite as claimed in the DSE media release.
Snakebusters venomous
snakes are alone in Australia in being vet certified surgically devenomized and
therefore totally safe. It is for this
reason they are known as “Australia’s BEST reptiles”. Noting this important fact (devenomized and safe snakes), the
trademarks office (IP Australia) even granted Hoser trademark status to
exclusively claim his reptile shows are the best in Australia.
Therefore the DSE
media release implying otherwise is a lie.
Hoser today noted,
“The DSE’s actions and claims are solely commercially motivated and motivated
by malice. There is no public benefit
in their legal actions and false claims before, during and since this totally
unneccessary court case. The fact is that in over 10,000 reptile shows using
the world’s most venomous species, Snakebusters are alone in Victoria with a
perfect safety record.”
There are numerous
videos on the web and elsewhere of Hoser and others being bitten by the
devenomized snakes, including of his daughter taking bites from world’s
deadliest snakes to prove they have no venom and dispel false claims to the
contrary. This fact has also been
confirmed in a document tendered to the court from international reptile
expert, Dr. Richard Funk, a USA vet surgeon of decades experience, which was
not contested by DSE, Melbourne Zoo or anyone else.
See Funk’s statement
posted on the web at: http://www.smuggled.com/Funk1.pdf).
By contrast all
Snakebusters competitors have had serious snakebite incidents with their
venomous snakes that are not devenomized, thus putting staff and public at risk
(illegally) and yet Glenn Sharp and Sharon Webb of the DSE corruptly protects
them and do not charge them with clear and ongoing breaches of Wildlife and
Safety laws.
For example, Zoos
Victoria have had four of their staff hospitalized and given anti-venom for
snakebite since 2004 and neither DSE or Worksafe have prosecuted them. These include Glenn Clapton and Byron
Manning at Healesville Sanctuary and Jon Birkett of Melbourne Zoo. See details
at:
http://www.smuggled.com/BitLis1.htm
In February 2010, Snakeman
Raymond Hoser published a journal paper exposing DSE staff engaging in a fraud
involving the famous “Sam the Koala”, of Black Saturday’s bushfires fame,
(details linked from:
http://www.smuggled.com/Koala_Sam_Is_A_Fake_An_Imposter_and_Fraud.htm). This paper showed that the stuffed (female)
Koala in the Melbourne Museum, is not the same (male) animal filmed drinking a
bottle of water after forest fires and also that the water drinking male Koala
was a bottle-raised pet held by the Southern Ash Wildlife Shelter, planted for
the filming and not a random encounter as alleged at the time.
After refusing
requests by DSE lawyers to stop distributing the journal, DSE decided to invent
criminal charges claiming the barriers Hoser used in his reptile shows didn’t
comply with their permit conditions. Secondary charges that Hoser put his
animals at risk of theft hinged on an even newer claim that DSE did not allow
anyone to hold reptiles at displays, even though all displayers have done this for
years and none have been prosecuted.
Furthermore the Wildlife Act specifically allows this in the preamble.
Hoser defended the
charges in the Ringwood Magistrates court on the basis that the permit
conditions did not specify the type of barrier Hoser used, but he lost on the
basis of a technicality and was fined by Magistrate Greg McNamara over $30,000,
most of it being DSE’s claimed costs of about $20,000.
Unable to fund an
appeal, likely to cost over $20,000 to run and with DSE likely to win at least
one of the 13 charges due the vague nature of their “particulars”, and
therefore able to claim all their costs from Hoser, likely to run in excess of
$100,000, Hoser did a deal with the DSE to plead guilty on the basis that DSE
drop their false claims that the Hoser devenomized snakes had regenerated
venom. As a result of the agreed fact
that Hoser had never put anyone at risk, the penalty (including costs to be
paid to DSE) was dropped to a third of the original amount. In other words the effective vendetta
against Hoser and his company by Sharp and others at the DSE had cost taxpayers
in excess of $100,000 when the DSE’s (claimed) legal costs and court running
costs are added togeather. This amount
should instead have been used for worthwhile conservation or other public
benefit activities.
More seriously
however, DSE compliance and prosecution heads Glenn Sharp and Sharon Webb
continue to corruptly allow the DSE associated entities Melbourne Zoo and
Healesville Sanctuary to show venomous snakes illegally, in breach of Section
32 of the OH and S Act and putting the public at risk. Furthermore, Sharp allows a personal friend
of his to also display venomous snakes illegally, even though this friend’s
company has had two serious snakebite incidents, including as recently as
January this year (resulting in an ambulance trip to hospital), for which no
charges have been laid.
The claim in today’s
media release that the fines against Hoser should send a message to other
demonstrators to comply with DSE’s rules is a lie. The fact is that Sharp himself has been aware of numerous safety
breaches by other demonstrators, including demonstrators illegally handing
venomous reptiles to the public (that are not devenomized) and putting them at
risk and yet has stated as recently as March this year that he will not
prosecute them. See transcript link
here:
A file of about 5 mb
of relevant images of safety breaches by these demonstrators, including Zoos
Victoria is on the web at:
The claim in the
Sharp and Webb’s media release that Hoser had failed to protect his reptiles
against risk of theft is false and even even more ironic.
The fact is that no
reptiles were ever stolen or at serious risk of theft at the events subject to
the charges.
However, of relevance
is that earlier this year, Hoser successfully took out an intervention order
against a close friend of Glenn Sharp himself, who had been actively
encouraging people to go to Snakebusters shows to steal reptiles. One man who was busted stealing a snake from
another event (Mansfield Show on 20 November 2010), on instigation by Sharp’s
friend, was caught by police shortly after. Dane Bender is now facing
charges.
As a result of posts
on a facebook “hate” website entitled “Ray Hoser Melbourne’s biggest Wanker”
(removed in July this year), and elsewhere by Sharp’s friend, Hoser
successfully took out an intervention order against Glenn Sharp’s friend, to
prevent him or associates from attacking Snakebusters displays, including not
to attempt to steal reptiles from Hoser’s displays.
Because the “risk of
theft” charge (found “proven”) was based solely on the act of allowing persons
to hold live (non-venomous) reptiles (refer to transcript excerpt linked here)
and Hoser was convicted, the result as it stands, means no displayer in
Victoria, (including Melbourne Zoo) is allowed to let anyone hold any
animal. No others have been charged by
Sharp, but in theory all are now breaking the law daily. As a result Hoser last week lodged
Victoria’s first Section 28A application to be allowed to let people hold reptiles.
If this is refused (as seems likely) the next battleground will be a VCAT
hearing. In 2008 a VCAT judge Anne
Coghlan derided “hands-on” with wildlife as a circus, but allowed it to
continue on the basis it is a popular educational tool for demonstrators of
wildlife in Victoria and all other states.
Snakeman Raymond
Hoser today said, “The fact is, we are the best at what we do and Melbourne
Zoo, DSE and their closest associates can’t match our standards of education or
public safety. Instead they fabricate
criminal proceedings and claims and then “deep pocket” us using their taxpayer
funded legal powers in order to undermine our successful wildlife education
business. It is a cowardly and unfair
attack on a man and a company who are environmental education leaders in
Australia.”
Hoser also said “It’s
a pity that Sharp and Webb, know that as government officers, their lies will
be printed verbatim by journalists who fail to check their facts”.
Hoser said “The
scandal is that the DSE should be working with Hoser and Snakebusters to
promote wildlife conservation. Instead
the DSE has shown their true colours as environmental vandals by attacking those
they should be supporting and by their false claims and malicious prosecution”.
Hoser noted that
DSE’s own credentials with regards to public safety are highly
questionable. DSE presided over the
Black Saturday bushfires debacle that cost 172 Victorians their lives. The last man to die from venomous snakebite
in Victoria was Ron Siggins a DSE endorsed snake handler who worked as an
“informant” for DSE.
Hoser is also seeking
legal advice with relation to considering defamation action in relation to the
recent comments by Sharp, Webb and others at DSE as well as earlier comments by
them and other individuals associated with them. In 2006, associates of then DSE enforcement head Ron Waters paid
Hoser and his lawyers damages of $29,500 after illegally using his
“Snakebuster” trademark.
Snakeman Raymond
Hoser is Australia’s unrivalled leading reptile expert. He’s published nine major books, including
the “Bible”, Australian Reptiles and Frogs (1989), contributed to dozens of others, published over
200 definitive scientific papers and is easily Australia’s most frequently
cited reptile authority (in third person publications). Hoser’s also named dozens of species of
snakes, including 9 of 15 known species of Death Adders, many other Australian
taxa and species from Africa, Asia and the Americas.
Further details:
Snakeman Snakebusters
9812 3322
0412 777 211
This media release is
posted on the web at:
http://www.smuggled.com/Glenn-Sharp-of-DSE-lies-in-Media-release.htm
Other relevant
websites:
Snakebusters –
Australia’s best reptiles http://www.snakebusters.com.au
Snake Man Raymond
Hoser http://www.snakeman.com.au
Australasian Journal
of Herpetology http://www.herp.net