The common perception of Australia as a land inhabited mostly by vicious, poisonous animals is not entirely unearned. After all, we have sharks, taipans, redback spiders and Clementine Ford. But, to us country folk especially, it can all seem a bit too much ado about nothing.
But, then you read that Australians in Australia’s largest city are being called upon, as their civic duty, to catch’n’contain the world’s deadliest spiders. So they can be milked.
A reptile park is calling for residents of Sydney and surrounds to catch funnel web spiders found in their homes amid a national shortage of their precious antivenom.
The Australian Reptile Park at Somersby, on the Central Coast, has experienced a lower number of spider donations for its antivenom program this summer.
That’s right: we’ve all gone soft and stopped catching venomous spiders. Time to harden up, princesses.
A spokesperson for the park said the shortage could be due to a number of factors, including the northern beaches lockdown as this is an area where a number of donations usually come from each year.
Yes. We donate spiders in Australia. That is a thing.
But at least we don’t make kids round them up. Funnel-web-catching is a man’s game.
Jake Meney said only adults who feel safe to do so should attempt to catch the spiders, which are shiny black to dark brown and can rear up if threatened.
“Please catch the funnel webs [by] using a big glass jar and keeping your hands away from the spider, coax the spider into the jar and bring it to us or one of our drop-off points – you will literally be helping us save lives,” he said[…]
The spiders’ venom is milked at the park before being frozen and sent to Melbourne pharmaceutical company Seqiris.
I’d like to tell you that the spiders are rounded up and milked at little spider dairies by busty Aussie milkmaids in skimpy khaki shorts, but, sadly no. Spider milking is much more clinical – and frankly hideous.
But here’s the part to get the vegans going.
Once there, the antivenom is developed during a six-month process which involves rabbits being injected with very small amounts of the venom until they develop an immunity. The rabbits’ antibodies are then extracted from its blood to create the antivenom.
Sydney Morning Herald
No one has died in Australia from a funnel-web bite since 1981, but just in case some intrepid spider-jackaroo gets fanged by the buggers, the correct treatment is:
- apply a pressure immobilisation bandage (see below)
- ensure the person bitten does not move around
- keep the bitten limb low down
- if possible, bandage the limb from the area of the bite to the hand or foot, then back up to the body
- immobilise the limb by splinting
- do not move the person
- call an ambulance or, if not possible, get the victim to hospital as quickly as possible
Let the great spider drive of ’21 commence.
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