The Australian Reptile Park has marked the end of the Chinese Year of the Snake with a rare and high-risk venom milking event, bringing together five of the world’s most venomous snakes in one powerful demonstration of the life-saving work carried out at the Park every single day.
In a symbolic tribute to the Year of the Snake, five highly trained venom keepers stood side by side to milk the five terrestrial snake species used in Australia’s antivenom program: the Tiger Snake, King Brown Snake, Coastal Taipan, Death Adder and Eastern Brown Snake. While the simultaneous milking was a special one-off event, venom collection itself is a routine and critical part of the Park’s operations.
Each of these species ranks among the most venomous snakes on the planet. Together, they represent the complete range of terrestrial snake venom required to produce antivenom for every native Australian snakebite. The Australian Reptile Park is the sole supplier of terrestrial snake venom from native Australian species for the national antivenom program, a responsibility that has helped save an estimated 25,000 lives over the decades.
“This is about as risky as it gets,” said Park Manager Billy Collett, who has been milking venomous snakes for nearly 20 years. “There’s not just one venomous snake, there are five, all within close proximity.”
Despite the obvious danger, the event was carried out with absolute precision. Every movement was controlled, every keeper highly trained, and every safety protocol strictly followed. The team also took the opportunity to compare venom yields between the species during the milking. The Coastal Taipan, officially listed as the world’s third most venomous snake, produced the largest volume of venom on the day.
“The job is incredibly dangerous, there’s no denying that,” Collett said. “But every movement is controlled, every keeper is highly trained, and every drop of venom collected contributes directly to antivenom that saves lives across Australia.”
Collett personally trained the four other keepers involved in the milking, including trainee Annika Barker, who has made history as the first woman in a decade to milk venomous snakes at the Australian Reptile Park.
“It’s an honour to be part of something so important,” Barker said. “This program saves lives, and to contribute to that, especially as a woman entering such a high-risk field, makes me incredibly proud.”
The Park’s venom program dates back to the 1940s, when tiger snakes were first milked in an effort to reduce snakebite fatalities across Australia. Since then, the program has grown to include multiple species and now plays a vital role in public health, both nationally and internationally.
The raw venom collected at the Park is sent to CSL Seqirus, where it is processed into life-saving antivenom and distributed across Australia and Papua New Guinea. Without this ongoing supply, hospitals would not have access to the antivenom needed to treat potentially fatal snakebites.
Visitors to the Australian Reptile Park can witness this extraordinary work first-hand inside the Park’s state-of-the-art Venom Centre, where the team regularly demonstrates venom milking and educates guests about the crucial role snakes play in modern medicine. For those unable to visit in person, the Park also shares behind-the-scenes access through its popular YouTube series, Venom Diaries.
While the simultaneous milking marked the close of the Chinese Year of the Snake, the real message behind the event is clear. These incredible animals are not just symbols of power and mystery, but essential contributors to a program that continues to save thousands of lives.