Do you mean to tell me that South Africans are better educated on venomous snakes, in general? That this couldn't happen there? I understand the great strides your country has taken towards conservation of it's fauna. Still, it seems quite unlikely that this is the case. Snakes, venomous snakes especially, are demonized in almost every culture that exists alongside them.
Where these festivals occur, they attract a fairly wide cross-section of the surrounding population. I'm saying we need to move towards changing the message, and supporting the ones that actually promote conservation and appreciation of these animals. The audience is there. Why pass up the chance to educate these people and give them something positive to take away from the experience? Regarding the people running these carnivals of death, I am not, "proud of their actions." I fail to see how you've come to that conclusion. I think I've made it pretty clear that the practice of harvesting large numbers of snakes, torturing and then killing them is absolutely despicable. It would just be infinitely easier to reach a larger number of people by simply reformatting the system already in place.
You mention all of your good friends here in America which find these practices abhorrent. Mine, too. That's what education does for people. But the fact is, people who are properly understanding about these snakes are in the minority, just as I'm sure they are there, too. That's not because of a prejudicial view of South Africans, mind you, just an observation of human beings, and the innate fear of snakes we seem to cling to as a species. We need to act while we still have the avenues by which to reach the majority. While the venomous snakes of the world continue to dwindle in numbers, H. sapiens sapiens continues to expand it's range at an alarming rate. Whether you like it or not, the snakes are losing this fight and we don't have time to waste.