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24 The papers
occupational
hazards
What’s the worst thing that can happen to us
office workers? Spilling coffee on the keyboard,
perhaps? Others, however, work every day
under an orange warning sign, and we’re not just
speaking symbolically. But while we’re all familiar
with nuclear power plant workers and fire
fighters, some other high-risk jobs are a bit more
outlandish. You’ve surely never heard of this
one: snake-milker. You know, milking – happy
dairy farmers and flocks of sheep on rolling
green grass? But snake-milker Rudy Fourmy’s
world is a different one: the man with the odd
occupation works in a highly secured, walledoff
building, more specifically a hangar in the
small Wallonian town Montroeul-au-Bois. His
strange business: extracting venom from poisonous
animals, processing it and selling the final
product to medical research facilities all over
the world. Fourmy’s company, Alpha Biotoxine,
is one of only a dozen around the globe that does
this commercially, and the demand for animal
ˆ
“ People like Rudy Fourmy know their way around a snake and don’t mind being surrounded
by species that keep some of us from ever buying that ticket to Australia ”
ˇ
venom is growing. In more and more research
labs, scientists are trying to find out how to
convert potentially fatal toxins into lifesaving
medicines. Snake venom is a sought-after
substance, needed to produce anti-venom, a
crucial life-saver for animal bite victims. But
its possible healing powers go even further, and
some drugs based on snake venom research can
be purchased in your local pharmacy. ACE
inhibitors – drugs used to treat high blood
pressure, blood clots or heart attacks – are just
one example. And it might just be the beginning.
Today, scientists are working on developing
medicines to fight cancer and strokes, based on
the biological processes found in snake venom.
It’s a good thing, then, that there are people like
Rudy Fourmy who know their way around a
snake and don’t mind being surrounded by
species that keep some of us from ever buying
that ticket to Australia. “The key is to be
attentive and highly concentrated at all times,”
Fourmy explains: “Always put your hands and
feet where you can see them.” Whilst snakes are
milked with head massages, spiders and scorpions
unleash their venom through soft electrical
stimulation that makes their muscles vibrate.
“When you’re well-trained, there’s very little
risk,” Fourmy assures us. Still, animals are not
machines, and at times they have unexpected
reactions, which is why no one is ever left alone
in the laboratory. Fourmy says “Sometimes a
snake escapes our grip or we have to throw it
on the floor to protect ourselves.” One of the
most dangerous species he has in his collection
is a spider from South America: “We have
to wear special white suits, masks and glasses,
a bit like bee keepers,” he says. “This kind of
spider throws pieces of poisonous hair.” Not a
pretty thought, and it doesn’t really come as a
surprise that not everyone appreciates his practice.
Fourmy had to wait an entire year before
starting his business due to neighbourly complaints
– fears that he perceives as irrational and
unjustified. In four years not a single animal has
escaped and no one has been bitten, the result of
an impeccable security system. “If a snake wants
to get out, it has to cross eight barriers,” Fourmy
explains. But is he really not afraid of falling
victim to a deadly snake bite one day? “I’m more
afraid of being bitten by a dog. They run around
freely everywhere and can attack you any time,”
he answers laconically. (SS)
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