Venom Farming Aids Research
Tarantula
“That makes me feel good when I hear that. I love this job. It’s a fantastic job,” says Chuck Kristensen of Arizona.
He has been working in the hills of Yarnell, located a couple of hours northwest of Phoenix, for 30 years. For most people, hunting down scorpions and spiders, as well as a range of other venom carriers would not be the ideal job. For Kristensen, it’s a fulfilling job. “I can actually milk the venom and sell it to medical research companies,” he said.
The job can be tedious, having to capture the creatures, often with bare hands, and placing a small tube on their fangs or stingers. They then need a small shock to get them to release their venom. It’s not a quick job however.
“Sometimes we have to milk 10,000 spiders just to get enough venom for one order,” he said.
The venom milked from these critters had become extremely valuable in medical research.