Raymond Hoser

Raymond Terrence Hoser (born 1962, United Kingdom) is a self-described Australian herpetologist, snake-catcher, and author. Since 1976 he has written books and articles about official corruption in Australia. He has also authored works on Australian frogs and reptiles and operates a snake handling business, Snakebusters, in Melbourne. Some of Hoser's work has been controversial, such as his advocacy of venomoid snakes.

Career

Whistleblower

Hoser has published several works as a whistleblower, in a 1998 radio interview he said that he was "known as an anti-corruption crusader".^[1] An analysis of his work by the Rationalist Society of Australia referred to him as a "tireless investigator"^[3] and he has received praise from Brian Martin, a former president of Whistleblowers Australia.^[4]

In his 1993 book, Smuggled, Hoser wrote that officials of the wildlife services in New South Wales were involved in the illegal wildlife trade.^[3][5]

In 1995 Hoser published, The Hoser Files, detailing his encounters with Victoria Police and the Road Traffic Authority in Melbourne whilst working as a taxi driver (Hoser had moved to Victoria in 1985).

Herpetology

Hoser has also contributed to the taxonomy of Australian snakes, describing new species and genera, and suggesting revisions to current arrangements. Some nominations have not been accepted.^[6][7][8] Hoser's work has been a source of controversy in the field, with a 2001 review in Litteratura Serpentium strongly criticising his publications as "less than professional", describing them as a source of confusion and wasted effort. ^[6] The review claimed that Hoser provided no description of the holotype or type specimen for most of his new species, and argued that Hoser's alleged errors could have been avoided had the articles were published in a peer-reviewed, rather than amateur and non-institutional, journal. ^[6] Charges of ethical misconduct were made in this article.^[6] Further criticism of Hoser's work was published in 2006, in a review that stated that "the level of evidence provided by Hoser to justify his taxonomic acts is minimal" and charged that several of his publications appear to have been made with the intention of scooping other workers in the field, behavior that the authors described as "ethically repugnant".^[9]

Some of Hoser's papers have been published and discussed in scientific journals in Australia and elsewhere; ^[10]; however, other papers have been published in journals that critics claim are amateur or self-published, non-peer reviewed journals.^[6][11] In a 2007 article in Nature on amateur naturalists Hoser responded to criticisms of his work by stating, "The description of me as an amateur is complete rubbish", he said. "There's no one in history who has spent so much time dealing with, looking at, catching and breeding death adders as myself."^[12] He is the author of the valid names and descriptions for Pseudechis pailsei and Acanthophis wellsi, snakes in the Elapidae family.^[13][14] Hoser's work on the taxonomy of the Pythoninae^[15] has been partially confirmed by later phylogenetic studies, but has not been officially recognized.^[16]

In 2009, Hoser started his own journal, the Australasian Journal of Herpetology, for which he is editor and, as of March 2012, the sole contributing author.^[17]

Hoser is an author and publisher of a number of books and a website on frogs and reptiles, and has a business as a snake handler. He runs the website smuggled.com, which contains articles about official corruption and reptiles. Hoser runs a business called Snakebusters in Melbourne, providing reptiles for children's birthday parties and catching and moving snakes in urban areas.^[18][19] As part of his business, Hoser claims the title "Snakeman" (and others) as trademarks ^[20] and has asked a number of people, including New South Wales volunteer snake-catcher George Ellis ^[21][22] and Gold Coast snake catcher Tony Harrison ^[23], to cease using the name "snakeman".

Hoser is an advocate of venomoid snakes, surgically altered to remove venom, and has published discussion on this topic,^[15] and promoted the procedure on his website.^[24] These animals are kept as pets, or used in exhibitions to the general public, and the procedure is regarded as controversial.^[25] A 2008 government tribunal ruled that Hoser's venomoid snakes cannot be handled by members of the public, due to the risk of the venom glands regrowing. VCAT Deputy President Anne Coghlan found Hoser had no qualifications, no training and produced no scientific evidence to back up his claims.^[26]

Court fines

In 2001 the Victorian Supreme Court used the offence of scandalising the court to fine Hoser $5,000 after he published names of two county court judges and two magistrates in a book entitled Victoria Police Corruption with allegations of bias and improper conduct.^[27][28] Hoser's 2003 appeal against the charge was unsuccessful and he was found guilty of a second contempt charge which was originally dismissed.^[29]

In 2011 Hoser was convicted and fined $12,000 in the County Court for demonstrating with venomous snakes less than three metres from the public, working in accessible pits and demonstrating in a way that put the animals at risk of theft. Hoser allowed his 10-year-old daughter to be bitten by a taipan and a death adder to demonstrate that his "venomoid" snakes were harmless.^[30] The manager of the shopping center where Hoser performed claimed that Hoser's performance was not consistent with his act description and said that Hoser would not be allowed back. ^[31] Following this incident, the Victorian Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE) suspended Hoser's commercial wildlife demonstrator license and his authorisation to hold snake-handling courses and use wildlife in film and television. ^[32] Hoser said that he would apply to the courts for an emergency injunction against this suspension. ^[33]

Works

Papers

• 1998. A new snake from Queensland, Australia (Serpentes: Elapidae). Monitor 10, 5–9.
• 2000. A new species of snake (Serpentes: Elapidae) from Irian Jaya. Litt. Serpentium 20, 178–186.
• Hoser R (2001) A current assessment of the status of the snakes of the genera Cannia and Pailsus, including descriptions of three new subspecies from the Northern Territory and Western Australia, Australia. J Herpetol Soc Queensl 2001:26–60
• 2002. An overview of the taipans, genus (Oxyuranus) (Serpentes: Elapidae), including the description of a new subspecies. Crocodilian – J. Vic. Assoc. Amat. Herpetol. 3, 43–50.

Books

• Australian reptiles & frogs, (238pp) Pierson & Co., 1989 ISBN 0-947068-08-2
• Endangered animals of Australia, Pierson & Co., 1991 ISBN 0-947068-15-5
• Smuggled : the underground trade in Australia's wildlife. Apollo Books, 1993. ISBN 0-947068-18-X
• The Hoser Files — The Fight Against Entrenched Official Corruption. (332 pp.) Kotabi, 1995. ISBN 0-646-23087-5
• Smuggled-2: Wildlife Trafficking, Crime and Corruption in Australia. Kotabi, 1996. ISBN 0-9586769-0-9
• Victoria Police Corruption. (736 pp.) Kotabi, 1999. ISBN 0-9586769-6-8
• Victoria Police Corruption 2. (800 pp.) Kotabi, 2000. ISBN 0-9586769-7-6
• Taxi. Kotabi, 2000. ISBN 0-9586769-8-4 (V. 1) ISBN 0-9586769-9-2 (V. 2)

References

External links

• Smuggled.com – by Raymond Hoser.
• Australian Library Collections