内容摘要：For more than two weeks, the surviving chicks have been nursed and cared for at First State Animal Center and SPCA, said John Parana, executive director.

For more than two weeks, the surviving chicks have been nursed and cared for at First State Animal Center and SPCA, said John Parana, executive director.

Nice Maria Santos holds her doll during a group gathering to bond and show off their hyper-realistic reborn baby dolls, in a park in Sao Paulo, Saturday, May 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)Nice Maria Santos holds her doll during a group gathering to bond and show off their hyper-realistic reborn baby dolls, in a park in Sao Paulo, Saturday, May 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

The hyper-realistic baby dolls are often used for grief therapy or parenting practice.Berenice Maria, a nursing assistant and longtime collector who owns eight dolls, says they offer emotional comfort. “I love reborns, despite the hate we see out there,” she said. “I want the right to go out with them … go to the mall, go to the park.”Daniela Baccan, co-owner of a reborn doll shop in Campinas, Sao Paulo, said dolls sell from 700 reais ($124) to nearly 10,000 reais (nearly $1,800).

With the rising controversy, safety concerns are increasing.“We’re locking up the store more, adding cameras,” Baccan said. “But at the same time, online demand has increased, and the store is seeing a much higher flow of people.”

A family shops for a hyper-realistic reborn babydoll at a shopping mall in Campinas, Brazil, Saturday, May 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

A family shops for a hyper-realistic reborn babydoll at a shopping mall in Campinas, Brazil, Saturday, May 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)Friede has long had a fascination with reptiles and other venomous creatures. He used to milk scorpions’ and

venom as a hobby and kept dozens of snakes at his Wisconsin home.Hoping to protect himself from snake bites — and out of what he calls “simple curiosity” — he began injecting himself with small doses of snake venom and then slowly increased the amount to try to build up tolerance. He would then let snakes bite him.

“At first, it was very scary,” Friede said. “But the more you do it, the better you get at it, the more calm you become with it.”In this photo provided by Centivax, Tim Friede, center, stands in a lab in South San Francisco, Calif., in 2023, that is using his blood to prepare an antivenom to the bites of various snakes. (Centivax via AP)