Is the venomoid operation legal?
A. Not in Europe, where they have stricter laws about animal welfare. It is still legal in the US for a licensed veterinarian to do elective non patient benefit procedures like tooth and claw removal on wild animals, or venomoid surgery, though many veterinarians will refuse to do this to an animal. It is not legal for people who are not veterinarians to perform this surgery, especially for profit. Some states allow farmers to perform simple procedures on their own livestock if it is done humanely. Venomoiders who are making money performing these operations do not fall into this legal category and are breaking the law. They are practicing veterinary medicine without a license and the drugs they use are illegal for non veterinarians to possess. There are some amateur venomoiders who do not use any drugs, relying on keeping the snakes too cold to struggle when they start cutting. This is also illegal because doing surgery on a conscious, feeling patient is extreme animal cruelty. Contac
