Venom Milking Program
Since the 1950s, the Australian Reptile Park has been the sole suppliers of terrestrial snake venom for the purpose of making anti-venom. It is estimated that 300 lives are saved by anti-venom in Australia each year and since the program’s inception, over 25,000 Australian lives have been saved by the program. The Australian Reptile Park is currently home to over 200 venomous snakes that are a part of the venom program that are milked on a fortnightly basis in the state-of-the-art Weigel Venom Centre.
5 Species of Snake Milked at the Australian Reptile Park:
- King Brown Snake
- Eastern Brown Snake
- Tiger Snake
- Death Adder
- Coastal Taipan
About Snake Venom
Snake venom is a highly developed form of saliva, injected by the snake into its victim through hollow, modified fangs. The base of a functioning fang, and often the first reserve fang behind it as well, is penetrated by a duct that leads from a large gland behind the eye. These glands, one on either side of the head, are modified salivary glands surrounded by muscle which, when contracted, forces the venom along the venom ducts and down through the fangs, squirting out under pressure as if from a pair of hypodermic needles. Venom may be injected may be injected in one or multiple but however, venom is not always injected as the snake has total control over amount of venom injected.
The venom of each species is unique, consisting of a combination of complex proteins, which act on the prey or bite victim in various ways. In most dangerous Australian species, the most significant action of the venom lies in its effect upon the victim’s nervous system, hindering the operation of muscles and causing paralysis that can lead to death from heart failure. Other components present in the venoms of certain species act to destroy blood cells, to cause blood clots or excessive bleeding, or to destroy tissue.
How Snake Antivenom is Made
The process of turning venom into antivenom is long and tricky but it’s not impossible. Once the snakes have been milked at the Australian Reptile Park, the venom is frozen and sent to the CSL Seqiris laboratory in Melbourne, Victoria.
The team inject very small amounts of the venom are safely injected into horses with the amount increasing in small amounts over a six-month period until the horse is able to withstand six-times the lethal dose. Blood is then drawn from the horse and the blood is spun in a centrifuge. The spinning separates the antibodies from the blood, and it is these antibodies that make anti-venom.
