Learning to handle some of the world's most venomous snakes –video

With a reported boom in people becoming snake handlers, Guardian Australia's Joe Hinchcliffe attended a venomous snake handling course in Queensland to investigate what's involved in training to wrangle some of the world's deadliest snakes. Christina Zdenek and Chris Hay, the herpetologist pair running the course, say they've observed a growth in their industry: '[The] number of snake catchers has exploded in Australia, and that's in every Australian state,' says Chris. 'And every year we hear about this increase in snake numbers. But the fact is it's the increase in human population that is then catalysing this increase in snake interaction.'

• Gone in 60 milliseconds: dramatic slow-motion snake bites reveal clues about how fangs and venom kill prey