Just when the internet thought it had seen everything, the US Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F Kennedy Jr went snake-catching outside Mehmet Oz’s Florida beach house, barefoot. A viral video shows him wearing socks but no shoes as he went out to grab two writhing black snakes with his bare hands while his wife Cheryl Hines cheerled the rescue.
Wildlife Experts: Absolutely Not
The snakes were Black Racers, which are non-venomous, as per the US National Park Service. Still, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission recently warned that even harmless snakes can bite when annoyed — which these two definitely were. Kennedy’s barefoot, bare-handed technique may have scored social media points, but wildlife officials would strongly prefer people never do this.
This Isn’t Even His Weirdest Animal Story
Kennedy’s history with wildlife is already famous on the internet. Earlier this year, Congresswoman Adelita Grijalva reportedly questioned him over claims involving a road-killed raccoon and “research”. He has also faced criticism over another incident involving a chainsaw, a dead whale, and a family road trip with the whale’s severed head strapped to a car roof. So somehow, wrestling snakes in socks now feels almost normal.
