reply regarding kids getting bitten

[Chris Sainsbury]

cool before something bad happens - pet dies or kid gets bitten etc. I'm sure you'll agree that Tarantula keepers and The bts don't need any bad press if something like this happened.

If kids get bitten by pet tarantulas then that is entirely the fault of the parents. No one needs bad press but why would the BTS get bad press on this unless they actively encoraged the spider handling or fighting. Would you say the BTS got bad press when that B. smithi was sent in the post to a work colleage or when someone goes to get checked out by a doc after getting bit?
Cheers
Chris

[Anita Pile]

Hi Chris,

If you approach it from a different angle, you may find that Craig meant that the BTS doesn't want to have deal with the fall out of a bad story and have to cope with bad press and damage limitation?

[Chris Sainsbury]

Hi
Sure I can see where you are going with that but the only reason why the BTS would have to deal with it is if silly peolpe it happened to stated that it was encoraged by the BTS in the first place. Im quite sure the BTS is not informed or questioned everytime there is a tarantula incident in the UK....or maybe they are?
If I am honest I bet 99.9% of the population isn't even awear that there is a BTS or would even care if there wasn't one.
Cheers
Chris

[Anita Pile]

Mmmmmm, not sure there, if someone got badly bitten and it managed to get as far as the press, even without the 'victim' saying anything about the BTS, I'm sure the press would then start looking around for a body or society that deals with tarantulas. Enter the BTS.

I'm sure you're right though, no, not that many people know that the BTS exists. I'd like to hope they wouldn't not care though.

[Phil Rea]

Well if you do a search on Google (which I'm sure is what many of the 'hacks' would do first!) for tarantula uk, the first site that comes up is the BTS.

[Anita Pile]

So......let's hope that nobody gets bitten badly enough that need to have an arm amputated and then the Sun hears about it and knows how to use Google

[Damien]

Well if you do a search on Google (which I'm sure is what many of the 'hacks' would do first!) for tarantula uk, the first site that comes up is the BTS.

Het bugger me your right ..cool.

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[Chris Sainsbury]

Ok someone gets bitten. The daily rag gets the story. does a google for tarantula UK and then gets in contact with the BTS. Nows thats the downfall of the hobby in the UK isn't it.
Now they do ore reaserch and find a page of bite reports and the crap hits the fan we need a world wide ban.
Anyone remember the bloke in Gerany found dead coverd in cobwebs being eaten by spiders and reptiles? I still have the clipping from the Daily Mirror that my Mum sent me, not to mention the crap that was in the German tabloids.
Were the BTS contacted in regard to this?
Has there been any crack downs?
I think its us tarantulas keepers that make more out of a scenario like this than the press do, a lot of the time.
Cheers
Chris

[Anita Pile]

Ok someone gets bitten. The daily rag gets the story. does a google for tarantula UK and then gets in contact with the BTS. Nows thats the downfall of the hobby in the UK isn't it.

Obviously not, but what it really is is a big headache for the BTS.

Do they choose to comment on it or not? Are their comments then edited so much that they don't even resemble what they originally said? If they choose not to comment what does that say? Basically if a paper (saying paper is a term loosely applied) has decided to run with a particular spin on a story, they're not going to want someone who sounds like they're making sense commenting on it................so, I guess to that extent, no it's unlikely they'd contact the BTS!

But going back to what was originally said, if a kid managed to get hold of one from ebay and was bitten, it still confirms people's fears and misconceptions of tarantulas on the whole, and that cannot be a good thing.

[Craig Mackay]

If kids get bitten by pet tarantulas then that is entirely the fault of the parents. No one needs bad press but why would the BTS get bad press on this unless they actively encoraged the spider handling or fighting. Would you say the BTS got bad press when that B. smithi was sent in the post to a work colleage or when someone goes to get checked out by a doc after getting bit?
Cheers
Chris

Why is it the fault of the parents? Do you suggest that parents warn thier kids from a very young age of the dangers that tarantulas pose? We were all kids once and I remember there were plenty foolish things I did even when I was told not to. Is it still my mum and dads fault. That's a relief, my conscience is clear.

Hi Chris,
If you approach it from a different angle, you may find that Craig meant that the BTS doesn't want to have deal with the fall out of a bad story and have to cope with bad press and damage limitation?

Yes, thats what I was getting at. Thanks

Mmmmmm, not sure there, if someone got badly bitten and it managed to get as far as the press, even without the 'victim' saying anything about the BTS, I'm sure the press would then start looking around for a body or society that deals with tarantulas. Enter the BTS.

This was my line of thought.

Well if you do a search on Google (which I'm sure is what many of the 'hacks' would do first!) for tarantula uk, the first site that comes up is the BTS.

And this shows the influence/respect that the BTS has in the hobby. If some people had some nasty bites then the bts would surely be seen at the forefront of the hobby in the uk and would be right in the firing line. I guess you would need to ask a commitee member whether the society is ever contacted in this way.

Ok someone gets bitten. The daily rag gets the story. does a google for tarantula UK and then gets in contact with the BTS. Nows thats the downfall of the hobby in the UK isn't it.
Now they do ore reaserch and find a page of bite reports and the crap hits the fan we need a world wide ban.
Anyone remember the bloke in Gerany found dead coverd in cobwebs being eaten by spiders and reptiles? I still have the clipping from the Daily Mirror that my Mum sent me, not to mention the crap that was in the German tabloids.
Were the BTS contacted in regard to this?
Has there been any crack downs?
I think its us tarantulas keepers that make more out of a scenario like this than the press do, a lot of the time.
Cheers
Chris

I was far from suggesting the downfall of the hobby. Thats a bit over dramatic. I'm sure that we could do without the headache of bad press but often a build up of bad press can build to bigger consequences. Often it can be easier to deal with the smaller problems before they escalate.

[Chris Sainsbury]

Why is it the fault of the parents? Do you suggest that parents warn thier kids from a very young age of the dangers that tarantulas pose?

If the parents keep tarantulas spiders then I would expect for them to educate their kids from a very early age not to play around with them or the tanks. If the kids keep tarantulas then I expect the parents to be responcible enough to know if their kid is responcible enough to keep a tarantula in the first place.

We were all kids once and I remember there were plenty foolish things I did even when I was told not to

That is off course true but as a parent you should to a certin level know how your kid interacts with things. Example My parents knew I was a little bugger so no pet spider for me!

Is it still my mum and dads fault. That's a relief, my conscience is clear.

Let me put it to you like this:- Your mum and dad has just told the 4 year old you not to pick up the hairy T.blondi then turned their backs to watch the rest of The Good Life.
You now being just 4 have decieded to ignor this, reached in and are now screeming your litle head off that the nasty spider has bite you.
Now because you are only 4 and your parents are natualy worried that something quite big and venomious has bite your little piggys, they have taken you to the hospital and the first question they get is "how did this happen?"........To which the answer should be if it is truthful......."well we keep a really large venomious tarantula spider that can bite, within reach of our 4 year old kid who, we can't watch 24 hrs a day and we are too bloody stupid to either keep it in a seprate room or out of reach of the little brat." So yes if this happened to you your conscience is clear.

Bites from pet tarantulas are always the owners fault and if the owner is a kid then I blame the parents for allowing their stupid kid to keep it.
Cheers
Chris

[Damien]

I have 3 kids and I have various animals( snakes/spiders/dragons) as pets.
My kids know never to mess or go near the animals because there would be trouble if they started meddling.

[Craig Mackay]

If the parents keep tarantulas spiders then I would expect for them to educate their kids from a very early age not to play around with them or the tanks. If the kids keep tarantulas then I expect the parents to be responcible enough to know if their kid is responcible enough to keep a tarantula in the first place.

That is off course true but as a parent you should to a certin level know how your kid interacts with things. Example My parents knew I was a little bugger so no pet spider for me!

Let me put it to you like this:- Your mum and dad has just told the 4 year old you not to pick up the hairy T.blondi then turned their backs to watch the rest of The Good Life.
You now being just 4 have decieded to ignor this, reached in and are now screeming your litle head off that the nasty spider has bite you.
Now because you are only 4 and your parents are natualy worried that something quite big and venomious has bite your little piggys, they have taken you to the hospital and the first question they get is "how did this happen?"........To which the answer should be if it is truthful......."well we keep a really large venomious tarantula spider that can bite, within reach of our 4 year old kid who, we can't watch 24 hrs a day and we are too bloody stupid to either keep it in a seprate room or out of reach of the little brat." So yes if this happened to you your conscience is clear.

Bites from pet tarantulas are always the owners fault and if the owner is a kid then I blame the parents for allowing their stupid kid to keep it.
Cheers
Chris

Sorry, I just re read your first post and noticed you said "if the kids gets bitten by pet tarantulas...". I failed to read the word pet and was replying under the assumption we were still talking about if a kid bought a spider from ebay to feed to his pet. If it's already a pet then I couldn't agree more on that one. The T's should always be out of the kids reach and he/she should be educated about them. I was talking about the a kid buying a spider without his parents knowing about it and getting bitten. I wouldn't blame the parents for that.

[Chris Sainsbury]

I was talking about the a kid buying a spider without his parents knowing about it and getting bitten. I wouldn't blame the parents for that.

if he brought it on ebay still blame the parents (they should monitar what the kid does online better)
from a pet shop blame the pet shop owner
bit whilest mucking about with it in the wild....then and only then possibly the kids fault as far as I am conserned.
Cheers
Chris

[Michael Peachey]

Surely because BTS doesnt condone handling then if someone gets bit then its due to they're own fault surely?

Even if someone buys it from BTS classfeilds, if they searched to post someone about the tarantula then recieve it and then get bitten; they must have agree'd to the terms and conditions.
Mike