China woman returns to hometown to raise 60,000 venomous snakes, earns US$146,000 annually
‘Unafraid’ university graduate tends to reptiles on father’s farm, makes money selling their venom for medical research
A young Chinese woman who returned to her hometown to raise more than 60,000 venomous snakes and earns more than a million yuan (US$147,000) a year has caused astonishment online.
The woman, surnamed Qin, was born in 1995 and hails from Guilin in Guangxi province, southern China.
Two years after graduating from university, she returned to her village to help her father raise snakes.
She now manages more than 60,000 reptiles, including over 50,000 five-step snakes, a highly venomous species of pit viper, and nearly 10,000 cobras.
Qin said her father initially opposed her entering the industry, believing that it was too dangerous.