Snakes in news again

Found this local story on me news app earlier
Though I would share it
https://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/new...ulated-1840355


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"I stupidly sat there and Googled the snake, it's rare but they have been known to hunt humans and its known as an aggressive snake which is hard to handle."

Really? They don't hunt us.

The press are just Idiots arnt they

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Originally Posted by Skyrivers

"I stupidly sat there and Googled the snake, it's rare but they have been known to hunt humans and its known as an aggressive snake which is hard to handle."

Really? They don't hunt us.

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I don't like sensationalist news at all especially when it comes to snakes, however green anacondas, retics, and burms have all been documented taking human prey.

Pretty snake lol

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Originally Posted by JodanOrNoDan

I don't like sensationalist news at all especially when it comes to snakes, however green anacondas, retics, and burms have all been documented taking human prey.

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So have dogs...

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Originally Posted by Valyrian

So have dogs...

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And lions and tigers and bears, oh my

Point?

My point is as soon as you get caught misrepresenting facts whether intentionally or unintentionally everything else that you say whether true or not will no longer matter.

As a community, we have the responsibility to always have our facts straight.

I would never tell someone they cannot own something however if you choose to keep animals that have the potential to harm people you automatically assume responsibility for anything that animal does. So by all means, own what you want, but control it. Giant snakes or hots getting loose is never good publicity for the reptile community.

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Originally Posted by JodanOrNoDan

And lions and tigers and bears, oh my

Point?

My point is as soon as you get caught misrepresenting facts whether intentionally or unintentionally everything else that you say whether true or not will no longer matter.

As a community, we have the responsibility to always have our facts straight.

I would never tell someone they cannot own something however if you choose to keep animals that have the potential to harm people you automatically assume responsibility for anything that animal does. So by all means, own what you want, but control it. Giant snakes or hots getting loose is never good publicity for the reptile community.

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My point is that dogs have been known to take human prey in the same way as large constrictors.

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I'm still perplexed as to the point you are trying to make. Dogs kill people. Known fact. It has absolutely no relevance to the original post. But, since it has been brought up, the person that lets a potentially dangerous dog run loose or any other animal that could inflict serious damage on an innocent neighbor is equally stupid and responsible for whatever that animal happens to do.

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Originally Posted by JodanOrNoDan

I'm still perplexed as to the point you are trying to make. Dogs kill people. Known fact. It has absolutely no relevance to the original post. But, since it has been brought up, the person that lets a potentially dangerous dog run loose or any other animal that could inflict serious damage on an innocent neighbor is equally stupid and responsible for whatever that animal happens to do.

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I think they're pointing out that although snakes can and have killed people, dogs have done it just as much if not more, and yet you keep a snake and you are constantly "in danger" and "insane" for keeping it, whereas tons and tons of people keep dogs, who also have the potential to kill people.

Snake owners vs dog owners, tell someone you have a snake, you surely have a higher chance to get a negative reaction. Tell someone you have a dog, and usually it's positive. Both have the potential to kill or eat a human. It just shows how unfair it is to snakes and snake owners.

Eating humans isn't the same as hunting humans in my opinion. They don't seek us out. They don't track us. A human can be eaten if they happen along and the snake is big enough (and this particular one wasn't nearly that big) but that's it. They just decided to use a scarier sounding word for sensationalism. Also, it's pretty rare. I'd hazard a guess that in countries where these snakes are only found as pets that more people are probably eaten by cats & dogs than snakes. I know I've seen stories where someone dies in their apartment and are consumed by their cats but for some reason these stories aren't hyped up as much as when a snake escapes and nobody gets hurt.

By saying that it "hunts humans", it's aggressive & hard to handle, etc... they're trying to create an impression to their readers that people shouldn't be allowed to keep these species of snakes or that is is massively irresponsible to do so (whether they got out or not).

I think the point Valyrian is trying to make is that these same exact points can also be applied to animals like dogs that are commonly accepted as "normal" pets. Actually, they may apply BETTER to dogs because dogs actually are capable of hunting prey rather than just eating whatever happens to walk up really close to them.

Additionally, "hard to handle" is ambiguous. Does it mean that they're likely to attack you, or simply that their size makes it hard for one human to carry them regardless of how friendly they may be? This allows them to imply that the snake is dangerous but still hide behind the other interpretation if anyone tries to call them out (whether this was intentional or just a happy accident of wording).

OK, guys I am going to leave the discussion with this. I understand exactly what was meant by the dog thing.

It is in my own best interest for people to at least tolerate my reptile keeping. Keeping that in mind it is beneficial that people that keep the big boys and hots to be able to defend their choice to do so.

You are not going win a debate with an outsider by trying to justify bad behavior with another bad behavior.

Reminds me of my kids trying to get out of being punished for some infraction. Me to daughter #1, "you need to put your dolls away" daughter #1 to me "but daddy daughter #2 didn't put her playdoh away.

Doesn't work when you are a child and it doesn't work when you are an adult.

I understand and agree, but it can also be used to show that even animals with dangerous capabilities can be loved and kept like other pets and aren't always out to kill you. Not every dog wants to kill you, not every snake wants to kill you. If dogs, which can be very dangerous, can be kept as pets, then snakes can be as well.

However, it's important to respect both snakes and dogs for their power, just as you should any wild animal. They are still animals with instincts and can be potentiality dangerous, so yes, there should be some reverence towards those animals, but as long as they are kept responsibly, whoever keeps them should not be branded "insane".

This is simply my take on it, and I respect yours ^^

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Originally Posted by 55fingers

I understand and agree, but it can also be used to show that even animals with dangerous capabilities can be loved and kept like other pets and aren't always out to kill you. Not every dog wants to kill you, not every snake wants to kill you. If dogs, which can be very dangerous, can be kept as pets, then snakes can be as well.

However, it's important to respect both snakes and dogs for their power, just as you should any wild animal. They are still animals with instincts and can be potentiality dangerous, so yes, there should be some reverence towards those animals, but as long as they are kept responsibly, whoever keeps them should not be branded "insane".

This is simply my take on it, and I respect yours ^^

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Obviously both snakes & dogs can be dangerous, even lethal to humans, & obviously, a loose snake did not have a responsible owner. IMO, the "buck" stops there.
Besides a long history of humans hating snakes, another thing that promotes sensational reporting is the way snakes turn up: how many dogs pop out of toilets? :rolleyes:

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

... how many dogs pop out of toilets? :rolleyes:

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That could give a whole new meaning to "pit toilets"...:rofl: