00:00In this cold-blooded classroom, staying calm is the number one rule.
00:07They think if there's a snake, you've got to run away from it.
00:10It's going to chase you.
00:11It's going to try and eat you.
00:12It's going to try and bite you.
00:13In reality, a snake has absolutely no interest in you at all.
00:16Former park ranger Johnny McGannon is getting his students used to sharing space with some
00:21of the country's most venomous reptiles.
00:23I guess it used to be more presented as a bit of a cowboy thing to do.
00:27You'd see people like Steve Irwin grabbing them by the tail and having a good crack.
00:32And that's all very fun and really good, but you don't need to behave like that around
00:35snakes.
00:36Since the start of the year, about 30 students have completed this certified TAFE course
00:40in Catherine.
00:41You get people who look after military bases, you get nurses, you get all sorts of different
00:47people.
00:48You get people from zoos.
00:49It's the first of its kind in the NT, and the second in the country.
00:53We're under specific standards to teach specific things that are correct.
00:57But not everyone agrees with this new approach.
01:00I think TAFE should have no, you know, they shouldn't be in it.
01:04There's no reason to be in it.
01:05I mean, if you look at me, I've been catching snakes since I'm 18, so I've built up a lot
01:09of knowledge over that time.
01:11Rex Neindorf runs the Alice Springs Reptile Centre and trains snake catchers across the NT.
01:17I catch and release snakes on a daily basis, and most of the snakes we catch here in Alice
01:21Springs are highly venomous.
01:22There are a lot of snake trainers around who aren't accredited, and of course they know
01:27what they're talking about.
01:28The course we deliver through CDU is not in any way any competition to those people.
01:34We're sort of designed it to target people in remote areas where there might not be a
01:40snake trainer.
01:41Johnny says whatever their differences, snake educators share a common goal.
01:45I figure if we can teach people how to behave around snakes safely, that kind of awareness
01:50sort of protects both people and snakes.
01:53A gentle approach to creatures often misunderstood.
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