A combination medical research facility and tourist attraction is coming to Douglas. Southeast Venom Research plans to build a new 150,000 square-foot facility near Douglas on Highway 441 South. The purpose of the facility will be threefold – to study the effects of snake venom on heart disease, cancer, and other medical conditions; create anti-venin for snakebite treatment both domestically and abroad; and give a nod to the sideshow attractions of the past, including snake milking exhibitions, alligator wrestling, and wildlife education shows.
The project is nearly a decade in the making and Southeast Venom Research is ready to start construction on its state-of-the-art laboratory and research facility. Most Americans have no idea how serious a problem snakebite mortality is worldwide. While exact statistics are hard to find, most experts agree that there are at least 20,000 snakebite deaths throughout the world each year. That figure could be as high as 100,000. Most snakebite deaths occur in underdeveloped areas that have a high concentration of people, dangerous snakes, and substandard medical facilities – places like India and sub-Saharan Africa. Most snakebite deaths occur from Indian cobras, Russell’s vipers, saw-scaled vipers, and the various kraits – although this too is difficult to determine.
What isn’t hard to figure out is that more anti-venin is needed for all species of snakes and more research is needed on potential medicinal uses for snake venom. Southeast Venom Research will meet those needs. “We are excited to be coming to the Douglas and Coffee County community. This is exactly the kind of community we’ve been looking for. The climate is friendly for many of the species of snakes we’ll be working with and we’re in close proximity to several metro areas. Those big cities have zoos, and zoos have venomous snakes. As unfortunate as it may be, bites do occasionally happen at these zoos. We will be well positioned to assist with those medical emergencies,” states Heinrich Stuggart, president of Southeast Venom Research’s Douglas facility.
The organization hasn’t listed all of the species of snakes it will work with, though the list includes Indian cobras, monocle cobras, Russell’s vipers, kraits, saw-scaled vipers, mambas (both black and green), Gaboon vipers, rhinoceros vipers, boomslangs, coral snakes, most of the North American rattlesnakes, and the holy grail of venomous snakes, the king cobra.
Venom research is only part of Southeast Venom’s mission. While most of its funding will come from the sale of anti-venin to medical facilities throughout the world, the facility will feature old fashioned animal shows, including alligator wrestling. In ‘50s, ‘60s, and ‘70s, roadside attractions dotted the rural U.S. highways throughout the Southeast, with Florida having the most. As the interstate system became a more popular way for motorists to travel, many of those attractions died out. Douglas already boasts a robust tourist industry, thanks in large part to General Coffee State Park, the annual outdoor festival, and other events held throughout the year. It’s the perfect place to have such a park, states Stuggart. “I don’t work much with crocodilians but we have a team that specializes in these kinds of shows. We’ll do five shows per day during the summer months. As the weather cools, we’ll move the shows to our climate-controlled indoor facility. This will be an excellent opportunity for field trips, birthday parties, and other such events. Our wildlife shows, coupled with our anti-venin lab, will be more than enough to sustain our facility,” he says.
Southeast Venom will create about 300 jobs, most of which will be highly specialized. However, about a third of its employees will come from the local community. These will pay higher than average wages and are just the kind of jobs rural communities covet. The Douglas-Coffee County Chamber of Commerce released a statement earlier today about the facility: “Our goal, like that of any rural county in Georgia, is to bring high-paying jobs to the community. We would also like to see more science- and technology-based career opportunities. This may not be a typical kind of industry but it will fill an important niche in both the medical and scientific communities. People from all over the world will come to Douglas because of Southeast Venom Research and we look forward to showing our community to a global audience.”
Together, Gov. Nathan Deal and the Georgia Department of Economic Development released a joint statement late this afternoon: “Technology has truly opened our state’s resources to the world. The Southeast Venom Research project in Douglas and Coffee County is yet another example of the economic impact Georgia can make in the global marketplace. We are pleased to see this project coming to our state, and we are excited to see what other opportunities it may open in the future.”
Construction on the laboratory should begin by mid-summer. By February, the lab should be up and running. The wildlife shows are scheduled to begin in May of 2017.