I was on mobile earlier and couldn't add:
I saw Bill Haast do his daily show at the Serpentarium in Miami, FL in the mid-70's. It was a thing to behold. The main building was a square with a courtyard. He would come out with a large bag and dump the King Cobra out on the grass. We, the audience, were on the perimeter of the grass, probably no more than 15' from the snake. Once out of the bag, the snake would immediately raise up and look at Bill. It was a large one, too, probably 15' long, maybe more. The body was thick. He would hypnotize it, grab it just behind the neck, drag it over to the "milking station" which looked like a bar in the basement of a home, and milk the venom from the snake.
The entire thing took about 10 minutes and he narrated the entire time.
I loved that place and watching him inspired me to get a Boa. Pet stores were full of them, sadly, and FL is reaping the ecological devastation they (and Pythons) have wrought over the last 5 decades.
