The number of people getting bitten by exotic snakes in the UK is on the rise, and experts say it’s because an increasing number of non-native snakes are being kept captive in homes as pets. A new study logs 321 exotic snake bites on 300 different individuals between 2009 and 2020, involving 68 different species […]
Tag: rattlesnake
Churchgoer bitten by snake during service dies after ‘refusing medical treatment’
A man has died after being bitten by a snake during a church service and refusing to be seen by doctors. Worshipper John David Brock was injured while handling the snake at a service in Jenson, Kentucky, when the reptile sunk its teeth into his arm. The Bell County Sherriff’s Office said the 60-year-old decided […]
Germany: More than 110 snakes found on farm after woman bitten
A snakebite to the farm owner led to German police finding more than 110 snakes. The woman who was poisoned is in critical condition in hospital. Police in Germany said on Sunday they had discovered more than 110 snakes, some of them dangerous, in a farm in Lower Saxony after a woman who lived there […]
Rattlesnakes to be skinned and “milked” of their venom for cruel entertainment
Despite being an extremely cruel event, the annual World’s Largest Rattlesnake Roundup in Sweetwater, Texas, continues to take place. Last weekend in Texas, a rattlesnake event took place, which included terrifying acts such as skinning, slaughtering, and “milking” the creatures of their venom. A contest for local young women is also organized, in which they […]
Reptile traffickers trawl scientific literature, target newly described species
“What happens when a new species of gecko is discovered? Two Germans grab their suitcases and get on a plane,” says Sandra Altherr, telling an in-house joke. Altherr is a co-founder of Pro Wildlife, a conservation NGO in Germany. In the joke, the anonymous men with suitcases are reptile traders. Their objective is to get […]
3 Reasons a Snake in the Yard Might Be a Good Thing
Happening upon a snake in the yard can be a startling—to put it mildly—experience. Whether it’s an evolutionary instinct to jump back at the sight of a snake or another one of those ingrained cultural fears, a close encounter with the slithering kind usually shocks the system, even for those among us who admire the […]
Cancel Next Year’s Rattlesnake Roundup
Each year in Texas, thousands of rattlesnakes are gassed, starved, and killed for entertainment. This event, known as the Sweetwater Rattlesnake Roundup, is a gathering place to slaughter snakes. Held in Sweetwater, Texas, a town of 10,500 residents, the roundup brings 25,000 visitors to Sweetwater. About 4,000 snakes are rounded up each year and killed. […]
POLL: Should the ownership of wild and exotic animals as pets be banned?
As the temperature plunged below zero late in January, a zebra’s back hooves got caught in a fence surrounding the Indiana farm on which he was being kept as a pet. Despite the extreme weather conditions, no one bothered to check on the welfare of this animal. Unable to free himself, the zebra panicked, gulping […]