Hands On Police Training: Venomous Snakes

Rochester, N.Y. -- DayGlo orange boxes lined the wall in the classroom at the Public Safety Training Center in Rochester.

Inside each box was a different kind of venomous snake: a Diamondback, a green mamba, even a cobra.

Tom Hudak, a local snake expert, brought them there.

He was assigned to teach police officers from several local departments how to handle the deadly animals.

Hudak says the seminar prepares police to deal with snakes that are all too easy to order and turn into pets.

"In terms of finding them in your backyard, no, New York is not a good state for that, but on the Internet you can get them often no questions asked, other states that adjoin us such as Pennsylvania and Ohio it's completely legal so it's almost like buying fireworks," Hudak said.

A crew from the program Inside Edition was also on hand for the tutorial Friday.

They're producing a program on how easy -- and illegal -- it can be to purchase and transport venomous snakes.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• snakes
• police
• training