CAPE CORAL, FLa. -- When venomous cobras are able to wander the wild like one did in Buckingham two weeks ago, most people panic. But those who are trained to calmly corral 9-foot yellow pythons like Roger Costigan see it differently. He's worked with venomous snakes for about 8 to 10 years.
Four in Your Corner's Malcolm Johnson asked him the question on many South Floridians minds after two venomous snakes were let loose this month, "Do you think we should allow venomous snakes in the state ?" He responded, "I do think that under the current Florida laws, that they're strict enough to where there should not be any incidents."
Fox 4 checked the State's permit requirements online. They're lengthy. Applications total more than 10-pages and require you to lay out a detailed plan in the case of an emergency. In this recent emergency, the owner of the venomous cobra that escaped in the Buckingham area got cited for failing to report soon enough that the snake had gone missing.
Some Southwest Floridians say if we learned more about them, we'd have less fear if we came across these eyes in our own neighborhood, like knowing the spots to check when snakes escape. "People should be educated. They should learn where to look. Warm cars, ac's, attics, that's where they'll be," Mia Lombardo said.
