This is discusting. Some poeple should not have kids..

Python Snake killed at St Bernadette festival

For approximately 10 years the employees and clients of All Creatures Animal Hospital have enjoyed an ever-growing petting zoo at the St. Bernadette festival. The purpose of the petting zoo is to raise awareness for the proper pet care by answering husbandry and veterinary questions for the general public, as well as providing an opportunity for people to handle exotic pets. The reception has always been positive and the Amelia community now eagerly anticipates the annual event. Usually there are a variety of different animals – including lots of reptiles, skunks, ferrets, rabbits, and goats – all screened to be docile creatures (except the snapping turtle and alligator).

For the past 4 years, Scott Braunstein from the House of Reptiles in Dry Ridge, Ky. has been assisting All Creatures in providing a large variety of snakes, lizards, and even an alligator for visitors to handle and observe. Scott’s whole business is to educate people on reptiles. His goal is for people to learn to appreciate and not fear the reptiles that share this planet with us. He discusses what reptiles make the best pets and which ones should be kept wild. Scott spends most of his time trying to convince people not to be afraid of snakes and reptiles, but to appreciate their unique design and beauty. He tries hard to train young people not to grow up believing reptiles are slimy or should be killed indiscriminately. All of Scott’s reptiles have very mild, predictable personalities, and they get handled very frequently. One 10-foot, 2-year-old albino Burmese python named “Popcorn” was particularly docile. Popcorn layed around most of Sunday afternoon in the lawn at St Bernadette while kids gathered around and petted the impressive individual. Adult spectators, while waiting in line for the chicken dinner, laughed and pointed at the snake – stretched out in the grass enjoying the mid afternoon sun. Towards the end of “Popcorn’s” lazy 8 hours at the petting zoo, Scott noticed that a young boy came up to the head of the snake and raised his foot. Scott asked the boy to back off and the boy replied, “I hate snakes.” Scott said that was fine and to just leave the snake alone, he wasn’t bothering anybody, and he told the boy to back off and go somewhere else. Then, without warning, the boy sneaked up on the big snake, and stomped his foot on the snake’s head. The snake’s spine was severed at the base of his skull from the force of the boy’s stomp, and the snake rolled and convulsed before expiring his last breath. His father who, obviously embarrassed, grabbed the boy’s hand and pulled him back into the festival crowd accompanied the boy. The only words said by the boys father were - “that’s why I can’t take you anywhere.” The father and his son were not seen anywhere near the petting zoo and never once appeared concerned that they had just killed this large beautiful reptile. Scott shook his head is disgust, loaded his deceased snake into a box and packed up his remaining reptiles for the long drive back to Dry Ridge.

Its seems ironic that Scott’s and The House of Reptiles’ volunteer weekend of educating the public about the myths of snakes and benefits of reptiles, had ended with a child’s determination to kill something he knew nothing about. To this boy snakes seemed only to be something that should be killed, a belief the boy had to have learned from somebody. The child may not ever know what was wrong with what he did other than it embarrassed his father. The father may have felt guilty or bad about his son’s behavior - but it seemed odd he did not have the decency to offer condolences, restitution, or even an apology for the senseless death of a harmless reptile. It disturbs me that before Scott even had an opportunity to educate this boy on why this animal should not be feared – the boy’s close minded, conditioned response was to kill the snake, despite fifteen or twenty other people being around, clearly enjoying this beautiful creature. What was the point? What was the child thinking?

Hundreds of individuals who were at the festival Friday, Saturday or Sunday may remember handling or touching Popcorn. May his death be a testimonial for an animal that gave his life for no other reason than trying to educate the ignorant? The truth is reptiles are a beautiful, unique, and interesting group of animals, and they do serve a very important purpose in the circle of life. They have occupied our planet for longer than any mammal, so they evolved incredibly unique adoptions for survival. They have continued to survive despite our population increases in the last 100 years. Many have been driven to near extinction, even in Ohio. Threatened by habitat destruction and population explosion. Species like the Kirtland’s water snake, native to the hills of Clifton, and the Massasuaga rattlesnake in the bogs of central Ohio – are being serious threatened to extinction. In less developed countries, less protection exists for reptiles so extinction is a huge problem. Some species will now exist only in zoos and private collections; others have been wiped out completely. The same is true of many wild animals, but reptiles have it the worst because man has always been afraid of them, having been portrayed as the creatures to be feared in the bible, folklore and myths from around the world, and some simply because of their uniqueness. And a few venomous species always seem to get the most attention.

I don’t know what kind trouble I would have gotten into as a child if I didn’t have reptiles to occupy my boyish energy. I collected snakes, studied them at the zoo and in my basement, and was always intrigued by how perfectly designed they are for what they do. I have always met other reptile lovers and we formed the Greater Cincinnati Herpetological Society (GCHS) whose purpose was to promote public education on reptiles and to protect them. The main goal is to educate, and to stop people from killing them in our own backyard.

In the balance of nature and humans occupying a finite planet, man continually doesn’t behave by the natural laws of balance and will take much more than we need. While in Africa I witnessed prides of lions relaxing as the zebra, and gazelles grazed around them. The herbivores knew that the lions would not be hungry for at least three days, and they were safe as there was fresh kill on the ground. Man does not seem to understand the rules of nature and we break them as we seek to satisfy our selfish personal needs. Perhaps we have not evolved enough as a species to understand the balances that other species, who have been on the planet longer, seem to know – like reptiles. Senseless killing of wildlife really disturbs me, and I have only seen it Homo sapiens. I have witnessed people drive out of their way to run over a live snake on the road. I have heard sick people describe the funny “popping” sound they hear when they run their car purposely over box turtles crossing our highways. May you think real hard before you tell your kids clichés like, “the only good snake is a dead snake,” or “mean as a snake”. Instead take them to the zoo, or the House of Reptiles and educate them on the beauty of wildlife, and the purpose that all God’s animals have on this planet. Attend a Greater Cincinnati Herpetological Society meeting and become absorbed in this variable and unequalled group of animals. Don’t cut all of your grass, leave some high; this gives critters a place to hide. Teach your children to appreciate the beauty in nature, because they are all a part of it. Reptiles were the first creatures to occupy land and now we have destroyed the habitats of wildlife.

All wild animals and especially reptiles deserve our respect. We need to protect them and educate our children about them. Now only “Popcorn’s” skin will be used for future reptile educational seminars with the House of Reptiles. And one less live albino python snake in the world may not make a big difference in future generations of reptiles. But maybe the readers of this story will think of “Popcorn” and be an example to a child the next time they see a snake on the road and stop their car and let it pass. Maybe someone who held “Popcorn” and witnessed no aggression will stop someone before they reach for the hoe to kill a defenseless garter snake in their garden. Perhaps a child, who admired Popcorns beauty, will pass on to other children or students the importance of protecting reptiles from needless harm. Reptiles need our help to survive for our future generations to enjoy and see God’s nature through their beauty.

Dr Dan Meakin - All Creatures Animal Hospital, Amelia

(Moved this into the General Herp forum for ya) Sad story. :(

I don't hate kids, but you don't see me walking around smashing their heads in. Think I would of beat the piss out of that kid if I witnessed that... :mad: :mad: :mad:

That is a terrible story. Sucks for the poor man, i know how heart struck i would be if i lose something like that, to an ignorant child. I would ball my eyes out if something like that happened to me. If that were my son his ass would be black and blue!!! And he would be learning and raising another Burm for the man. I would teach him how to take care of and tend to the snake, so he could learn that there not TERRIBLE creatures, and as my son grew i would assign him home, homework to research and learn about these magnificent creatures!

I'd sue em.

Yeah, but as someone who adores snakes I bet your kid would never do that. And based on the Father's actions I doubt that he'd really make the kid do anything lasting as restitution.

I sent this to the one friend who is most annoying when it comes to reptiles... Can't wait to get a response.

what a horrible story! i can't believe nobody in the crowd tried to stop them from taking off like that! i just don't know what to say!

Honestly, if you had a snake like that on the ground, and a kid came over and raised his foot, how many of you WOULDN'T OF TACKLED HIM? I would of straight laid him out....omfg I am so heated right now...

I tend to agree with you, sw204me... I would have grabbed the kid and "escorted" him right out away from my snakes giving him a gentle but firm talking to about how to respect other creatures even if you don't like them yourself. After it happened, I would have grabbed them or had someone stop them and demanded some form of payment/reimbursement for the horrid and pointless act.

You are SO right that some people shouldn't have kids. I have seen and heard some awful things where parents just laughed and said their kid had 'spirit' or something like that...mostly at the zoo I trained at. I had to have a security guard remove an entire group of school kids once because they were throwing rocks at the alligators...hard...as their two teachers were just sitting a few feet away watching the monkeys.

That was a totally heartbreaking story and I hope it teaches some people to educate their kids properly about animals, keep an eye on the kids instead of letting them wander around, and take responsibility for their kids actions.

It is a sad story but it also tells a sad truth about human kind. We've become so technologically advanced that we've forgotten the basic laws of nature and our connection to it. Me personally, I'd love to give that kid a thrashing but that would just defeat the ultimate purpose of teaching him how beautiful a creature snakes are. I think his "punishment" should be to do community service at a reptile house, make him handle and work with the creatures he hates so much. Its like when your a kid and you fight with your sibling, he's looking at me, she's touching me and your mom would make you sit across from each other and look at each other or hold hands for an hour. After a while, you can't help but think about the other person and your feelings toward them.

oh my god...that kid deserves to have his head smashed in.

This is a sad and heart breaking story, and end to a beautiful creature. From the fathers response it sounds like this isn't the first distructive episode out of his child. Maybe not all with animals, but all ending with kill or destroying sometime. That kid is a growing time bomb, and a meneace, and his Dad is supporting it. To have just ran off like that. Not force the boy to face what he did, to a living creature. As Popcorns owner I would have been hard put to not grab the brat and rattle his world regardless of the outcome on me. I am so sorry for the victims, Popcorn and owner. :(

I think it is sad that there is no punishment for the kid or parent. If the snake had bitten the kid the whole world would have heard about it ans I am sure the owner would get into some kind of trouble. Sad double standards.

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Originally Posted by sw204me

Honestly, if you had a snake like that on the ground, and a kid came over and raised his foot, how many of you WOULDN'T OF TACKLED HIM? I would of straight laid him out....omfg I am so heated right now...

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i wouldn't do that if he were my age i would tell him back off then then if he killed it i'd beat the :cens0r: out of him until he :cens0r::cens0r::cens0r::cens0r: him self

Punishment should fit the crime.



Mike

Folks, responses that make you sound worse and more violent than the child in this story are childish and inappropriate so let's settle down okay.

It was a horrible, senseless act by an unsupervised child that obviously has problems as most children will not naturally set out to kill or severely injure an animal (which by this story this particular child made more than one attempt to do). This child's parent should be held financially accountable for the loss of the snake as well as morally accountable for why their child is acting so inappropriately.

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Originally Posted by frankykeno

Folks, responses that make you sound worse and more violent than the child in this story are childish and inappropriate so let's settle down okay.

It was a horrible, senseless act by an unsupervised child that obviously has problems as most children will not naturally set out to kill or severely injure an animal (which by this story this particular child made more than one attempt to do). This child's parent should be held financially accountable for the loss of the snake as well as morally accountable for why their child is acting so inappropriately.

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i think the child should have definatly been punished, prehaps forced to clean cages and the parent to pay a fine.
how ever i dont feel the snake should have been left out to lay in the grass where that could happen.

the fact the child attacked the snake even after being warned and regardless was determined to kill the snake leads me to wonder what else he has killed. or if he wets the bed or if he plays with fire.
kids that kill animals when the CLEARLY know it is wrong always send red flags in my mind.

:( Sad.

As they should in any parent or responsible adult, Ansli. It's a red flag that the parent in this case should be addressing and the first step towards that goal should have been staying there and making that child face the consequences of his cruelty. No good lesson is ever learned by allowing your child to avoid appropriate consequence.

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Originally Posted by frankykeno

As they should in any parent or responsible adult, Ansli. It's a red flag that the parent in this case should be addressing and the first step towards that goal should have been staying there and making that child face the consequences of his cruelty. No good lesson is ever learned by allowing your child to avoid appropriate consequence.

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which is true. i know my parents would have embarrassed the fire out of me right then and there. it just breaks my heart this kid is going to grow up with that kind of temperament one day. a disregard for living things or other people.

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Originally Posted by shhhli

i think the child should have definatly been punished, prehaps forced to clean cages and the parent to pay a fine.
how ever i dont feel the snake should have been left out to lay in the grass where that could happen.

the fact the child attacked the snake even after being warned and regardless was determined to kill the snake leads me to wonder what else he has killed. or if he wets the bed or if he plays with fire.
kids that kill animals when the CLEARLY know it is wrong always send red flags in my mind.

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They were there all day 8 hours with no problems , And they had done this before , the snake stayed in the same spot. The owner I am sure never thought the kids was going to do anything. If it were me I am not sure that I would have done anything different except to yell to people to catch that kid till the police came. I do not blame the owner of the snake at . As humans we want to trust other humans.

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Originally Posted by melinda.s

They were there all day 8 hours with no problems , And they had done this before , the snake stayed in the same spot. The owner I am sure never thought the kids was going to do anything. If it were me I am not sure that I would have done anything different except to yell to people to catch that kid till the police came. I do not blame the owner of the snake at . As humans we want to trust other humans.

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just because you've done it before does not make it right. i just dont feel leaving a snake out in an open area with a crowd is the best idea. why couldn't he have had him out and then put him back into an enclosure? I'm sure it was to some degree stressing for the snake to lay out in the bare open. Maybe i misread something.

I'm not blaming the owner, but this technically, could have been prevented. If some kid came at my snake trying to kill it and i had to chase him off the first time, that would have been it for the snake laying out on the grass. i would have put it up.

This stuff really, really, really makes me mad. :mad: What makes that kid think he has the right to just end a life like that!? And his parents must be absolute rubbish at doing what they're supposed to do if their kid even had an inkling that that sort of thing is remotely acceptable. Is this not an arrestable offence? Or is there not some sort of legal punishment that can be given out?

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Originally Posted by sw204me

Honestly, if you had a snake like that on the ground, and a kid came over and raised his foot, how many of you WOULDN'T OF TACKLED HIM? I would of straight laid him out....omfg I am so heated right now...

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And if you had you would have been arrested and sent to jail.

Just remember in the Bible it says (Genesis):

14 And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because you have done this, you are cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon your belly shall you go, and dust shall you eat all the days of thy life:
15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and you shall bruise his heel.

So many people interpret this to mean that it is acceptable to destroy snakes. And I am sure that PETA would not defend the rights of the snake owner after all it is not a Dog or a Cat.

and I can bet that if you attacked a child you would be put on a Child Offenders registry for the rest of your life. Is it worth it? The child is rotten to the core, and probably will be rotting in prision before his 18th birthday.

The owner did all that he could under our perverse laws. Remember even a parent cannot raise his hand to strike the bottom of an unrully child. And that strike would violate not one but several laws...

Those laws are indeed perverse if they do not allow for some serious punishment to a sick, twisted individual (who knows the difference between right and wrong, even if he or others claim otherwise) who has taken a life.

This is the worst display of human ignorance (childs father) that I have recently heard of. :rainon:

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Originally Posted by AkivaSmith

And if you had you would have been arrested and sent to jail.

Just remember in the Bible it says (Genesis):

14 And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because you have done this, you are cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon your belly shall you go, and dust shall you eat all the days of thy life:
15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and you shall bruise his heel.

So many people interpret this to mean that it is acceptable to destroy snakes. And I am sure that PETA would not defend the rights of the snake owner after all it is not a Dog or a Cat.

and I can bet that if you attacked a child you would be put on a Child Offenders registry for the rest of your life. Is it worth it? The child is rotten to the core, and probably will be rotting in prision before his 18th birthday.

The owner did all that he could under our perverse laws. Remember even a parent cannot raise his hand to strike the bottom of an unrully child. And that strike would violate not one but several laws...

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what about protecting your investment?
and dont think peta wouldn't snap up this as a chance to throw it back into our faces as to why we should not be allowed reptiles/pets.
peta's end of game goal is to prevent people from ever interacting with animals, ever.

you best believe if i felt one of my animals was in imminent danger, it is my duty as their keeper to protect their lives. i would not hesitate to snatch up a kid. i would not do so, like tackle them like a line backer, but there may be some one being snatching up or pushing off.

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Originally Posted by Mr. H

This stuff really, really, really makes me mad. :mad: What makes that kid think he has the right to just end a life like that!? And his parents must be absolute rubbish at doing what they're supposed to do if their kid even had an inkling that that sort of thing is remotely acceptable. Is this not an arrestable offence? Or is there not some sort of legal punishment that can be given out?

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i just cannot understand how that guy didnt track them down and do something about it. i mean, that snake had to eat, it cost money to aquire did it not? and i dont know how much albino burms are these days- but im quite sure he didn't buy the snake with lollipops and rainbows. even if the snake was donated- feeding and upkeep are not free. not to mention this animal was used as an educational tool.

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Originally Posted by shhhli

i just cannot understand how that guy didnt track them down and do something about it. i mean, that snake had to eat, it cost money to aquire did it not? and i dont know how much albino burms are these days- but im quite sure he didn't buy the snake with lollipops and rainbows. even if the snake was donated- feeding and upkeep are not free. not to mention this animal was used as an educational tool.

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If this was a corporate entity or the property of a zoo, it will have had insurance on it to cover replacement. If it was a pet or a personal item, the person should have had insurance on it before he took it out to be handled by others.

I am sorry for his loss, but now he will know the risks of allowing uneducated humans from getting too near one of his snakes. It is the owner's fault that the snake was killed, not the childs. This is what almost any court would say.

AND YOU BETTER BELIEVE THAT THE FATHER OF THAT CHILD LEFT THE FAIR AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE...

But as I said before, a person like that will not survive long without someone to clean up after him. Unless he joins the Mafia or a large gang, he is going to be in a world of hurt when he trys something like this to someone who has no regard for the rule-of-law.

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Originally Posted by AkivaSmith

I am sorry for his loss, but now he will know the risks of allowing uneducated humans from getting too near one of his snakes. It is the owner's fault that the snake was killed, not the childs. This is what almost any court would say.

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that is true. heck someone could even twist it to say the children were in danger.

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Originally Posted by AkivaSmith

AND YOU BETTER BELIEVE THAT THE FATHER OF THAT CHILD LEFT THE FAIR AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE...

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lmao, i sort of imagine him dragging the kid off by the hand with that brisk-almost trotting walk. blood red cheeks.

Oh heck yeah...he was out of there as fast as he could drag that spoiled rotten spawn... This was not the owners fault, tho I personally would have 'escorted' that child out of the area SO fast, nor was it entirely the child's fault...it was the parent's. Anyone who takes a child they KNOW to be violent (and it is believed this guy knew from what he was heard to say) out where there are animals, not just reptiles, is totally accountable for what that child does.

I agree the owner should have called for someone to stop and hold those two to get some sort of report filed or payment from them. I also agree that that kid should be forced to pay for what he did...maybe by cleaning cages or some sort of service under heavy supervision.

All in all this was a HORRID act that could have been prevented on many fronts...

If I was to do something like that when I was young my mother would've taken off her sandal hit my bottom with it then make me tell the owner sorry (and mean it) then make me help the owner around. My mother is very strict when it comes to animal cruelty

I don't believe it was the owner's fault. You could perhaps argue that it was partially his fault but by doing that you could also say that all parents are partially responsible for their children's death for concieving them in the first place. It was irresponsible for the owner not to act sooner, sure, but it was the little murderer's decision to take an innocent life. If I were there, I would have a hard time controlling myself as I'd be so mad I simply would not think of the consequences. I do hope something truly horrible befalls this truly person.

well. i feel its not 100% the kid or the parents simply because (unless i missed something) it is quite foolish to leave a snake lying around in the grass at a fair. my biggest concern would be that someone would step on him and kill him. which, well, is what happened.

I'm reposting this tragic story a few other places. Thank you for sharing it, this is exactly the kind of thing that people need to know about... and why education is so important.

*sigh* :tears:

I've seen kids act that way towards all kinds of animals too... not just reptiles. I can't even begin to fathom that kind of cruel behavior...

Un-friggin real! :mad:



I understand that taking any action on the child is not the way to go but I am a person who when taken to my limits act first and think later. I would have chased down and confronted the father and if he would have given me any lip I would have belted him. Sorry if that line of thinking upsets anyone but it is what it is and I am who I am. And I will stand up and defend those who can't .

The parents are the ones to blame here. Where the heck was the father the first time this little "angel" was told to leave the snake alone???

Unless kids are older ie 16-17 range I tend to blame parents more for their actions than the kids. No home training, pure and simple.

The parent should have been stopped and the parent/child should be held accountable in a legal sense.

What a shame. :disbelief

It wasnt the owner of the animals fault it was the kids fault completely. Any responsible parent that gives a hoot would have done something to their kid other then just gabbing him and hauling him away. The poor guy had a display set up showing off his animals and informing the community how to safely handle reptiles and how they are like any other pet.

Sorry shhhi the kid didnt just step on the animal he stomped on it purposely.

anybody that raises their kid(s) like that need to be stomped on. (*end rant)

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Originally Posted by jotay

Unless kids are older ie 16-17 range I tend to blame parents more for their actions than the kids. No home training, pure and simple.

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I'm 15 and I'm aware that my own actions come with my own consequences for a number of years now. Probably since I was 11-ish. I think parents are held responsible for too much, and that children are much more aware of things than people give them credit for. This little... (insert unspeakable word here) should be held responsible for his actions, and a smack is the least he deserves.

You are correct on that Mr. H. you know what you are doing basicly after the age of 8 or 9.

Its such a tragedy, and the fact that no one took responsibility is even sadder still.


RIP, snake friend

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Originally Posted by sw204me

I don't hate kids, but you don't see me walking around smashing their heads in. Think I would of beat the piss out of that kid if I witnessed that... :mad: :mad: :mad:

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I SECOND THAT!!!!! :mad:

It just makes you shake your head, reading something like this. :(
I would highly bet that this kid will either be a future wife/partner beater, or a full-fledged serial killer. It's how they're made; no consequence to ending an animal life.. senselessly..for some warped people it translates right into human life. I know personally of two abusive men who had maimed/killed animals in the past (one was a friend's physically abusive ex; the other, a brother of an old friend.)

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Originally Posted by Mr. H

I'm 15 and I'm aware that my own actions come with my own consequences for a number of years now. Probably since I was 11-ish. I think parents are held responsible for too much, and that children are much more aware of things than people give them credit for. This little... (insert unspeakable word here) should be held responsible for his actions, and a smack is the least he deserves.

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So you think violence is a good way to teach a child compassion and love for animals? Really?

:colbert:

sad story. i cant believe no one tried stopping them and the guy and kid just left without anyone doing anything. kids like that sicken me. whenever i take any of my large snakes to the park next to my house to get some natural sunshine and exercise and i see some stupid kid annoying my snake, i yell at him to back off and most of the time it works.

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Originally Posted by SarahMB

So you think violence is a good way to teach a child compassion and love for animals? Really?

:colbert:

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I doubt that this child can still be taught compassion for animals. If he can, of course violence would not be the way to teach him it. Violence would be a serious consequence to him committing an even more serious crime, I never said "teach him to love animals by hitting him". My mother would rarely but occasionally hit me if I did something wrong, usually a smack across the back of the legs, and it showed you that doing things wrong brought on a serious consequences. This "person" will likely never be able to feel compassion for, or understand the beauty of anything. He's a waste of space.

I still stand by my opinion that this child's biggest "issue" is the parent here that chose to run away rather than help their child face a consequence to an action, learn from it, grow with it and perhaps discover where this aggression is coming from in the first place. As much as it saddens me to see an animal injured or hurt, it saddens me more to see a child so poorly parented.