News: 2 die in rock python attack

[eatgoodfood]

I hate the media... yep a python killed two boys heres a picture of a boa and a corn snake... oh and by the way we have no real evidence as to what happened but were going to shove this fear mongering crap down your throats so you can be even more scares of snakes or somehow confirm your fears. I know everyone that thinks pythons eat kids is sitting there right now saying i told you so, better make more laws so these creepy people cant have them and their 50ft annacondapythonboa cant terrorize the neighborhood.

[sorraia]

My dad told me about this on the phone yesterday. My first reaction was, "What? That's not right." and second reaction, "Now all snake keepers are going to get hell for this." It doesn't make any sense, and doesn't add up.

Once the actual cause of death is known, (and I'm betting that the snake will be exonerated) there will be NO followup reports in the media explaining that the snake was not at fault.

This. End.
Reminds me of the Diane Whipple case in San Francisco. She was killed in her apartment by two dogs that attacked her. The media immediately called them pit bulls, it went nationwide. Pit bulls killed a woman in San Francisco. Then the truth came out. They weren't pit bulls, they were Presa Canarios (a mastiff breed). A small handful of reports gave the truth about the dogs' identity, and it was quickly swept under the rug and forgotten. I'm sure many people still think those dogs were pit bulls.
Probably will be the same thing here. When it is discovered the snake did not actually kill these boys, a handful of truthful media outlets will put out a short blurb about it, and then quickly sweep it under the rug. The rest of the media outlets won't even bother, just quickly move on to the next big story.

x2. The story was also broadcast on my morning XM station today, complete with criticism toward anyone who "keeps an animal in a cage" (oh, except for zoos, of course). I attempted to call in before they even discussed it, but my comments weren't acknowledged on-air. Not surprised, just saddened.

Anyone who keeps an animal in a cage eh? Hmm... That will include far more than just reptile keepers! Since rodents and rabbits are also kept in cages, as well as birds. Let's not forget. Oh yeah... even dogs are kept in cages! Does "cage" include fenced in pens or stalls? If so, then livestock keepers must be included in that. Typical media broadcast... opening their mouths without thinking.

[4theSNAKElady]

What im hoping, and i feel bad for saying this,(no young boys should die) is that it IS foul play and the person who did it was using the snake as a cover up. Now THAT would definately make news, and possibly cause the general public to question past "snake attacks", in hopes that snakes are considered less dangerous...that the idea that snakes deliberately go out and attack people, mainly children, is just plain crazy...which it is.

sent from my incubator

[Mephibosheth1]

So this story is number 1 on the Yahoo main page, and according to the article, the preliminary investigation yields "evidence" that the snake did it.


This is complete bullcrap (pardon me....gets me angry), but everyone in the comments is posting "well, my python loving friends sure are misinformed about their pets".

I already have prepared my family as best I can for the realization that we will probably have to get rid of our snake when this story causes the NEPA amendments to be passed.

[AnotherBallPun]

My heart goes out to the family of the 2 boys, this is a tragedy. I think there's a few things we should take into consideration aside from who is responsible & if this afrock even "did it."

I think we should be speaking out against the owner & what we know for sure at this point.
1) African rock pythons ARE ILLEGAL in New Brunswick (3m rule in effect)
2) This facility was a "zoo" until it lost its accreditation a few years ago for poor husbandry.
3) There was an active petition in place by local hobbyists to have this store shut down (poor husbandry again)

We need to educate more people about our hobby. Many/most of us do not keep "giants" and the last thing we need is the whole hobby being painted with the same brush.

Page 2 of the Toronto Sun had the story this morning, with a pic of a ball python next to a pic of the store saying "a snake similar to the 'African python' as seen on reptile oceans website"

This keeper may be 'like us' but he isn't one of us. If for some strange reason the autopsies come back to show this animal was responsible we need to be a step ahead.

We have to be smart about how this is viewed & we need to do some damage control. The first step, and something we can all do is always ensure you enclosures are secure & care for your animals properly...

[Pythonfriend]

one thing that makes me angry when i look at news reports uploaded to youtube....


They all fail to mention that the python crashed down through a ceiling tile!

a ceiling tile broke and 50 pounds of meat fell, together with ceiling tile debris, into the room.

The media just dropped it and only mentions the ventilation system.

The thing is, this is the one piece of information that REALLY DOES NOT FIT THE STORY. It calls it all into question. Everyone would ask: How the heck did two boys that age not wake up when a ceiling tile broke and 50 pounds of meat crashed onto the floor?

it calls the story into question, so what does the media do? THEY DROP IT. THEY REPORT WITHOUT MENTIONING THIS. They drop this detail to make the story more consistent, more believable. They dont want to report inconsistent and self-contradicting stories, so they remove the inconsistency by erasing how the snake supposedly entered the room.

That really makes me angry.

[norwegn113]

My heart goes out to the family of the 2 boys, this is a tragedy. I think there's a few things we should take into consideration aside from who is responsible & if this afrock even "did it."

I think we should be speaking out against the owner & what we know for sure at this point.
1) African rock pythons ARE ILLEGAL in New Brunswick (3m rule in effect)
2) This facility was a "zoo" until it lost its accreditation a few years ago for poor husbandry.
3) There was an active petition in place by local hobbyists to have this store shut down (poor husbandry again)

We need to educate more people about our hobby. Many/most of us do not keep "giants" and the last thing we need is the whole hobby being painted with the same brush.

Page 2 of the Toronto Sun had the story this morning, with a pic of a ball python next to a pic of the store saying "a snake similar to the 'African python' as seen on reptile oceans website"

This keeper may be 'like us' but he isn't one of us. If for some strange reason the autopsies come back to show this animal was responsible we need to be a step ahead.

We have to be smart about how this is viewed & we need to do some damage control. The first step, and something we can all do is always ensure you enclosures are secure & care for your animals properly...

is it me or did they post a pic of a ball python? lol. the headline calls it a boa, the story says its a rock python and the pic shows a ball python! EXCELLENT investigative reporting!

[Mike41793]

Seriously can't NBC or CNN just invite me onto their show to explain why this sounds like BS? I wish there wasn't such a distance between the leaders and the people. One lunch with president obama and i bet i'd have him shooting down any of the stupid anti snake laws... I hate this country. Canada sucks too, btw.

[TJ_Burton]

Seriously can't NBC or CNN just invite me onto their show to explain why this sounds like BS? I wish there wasn't such a distance between the leaders and the people. One lunch with president obama and i bet i'd have him shooting down any of the stupid anti snake laws... I hate this country. Canada sucks too, btw.

The media is having a field day with misinformation.

[Inarikins]

Notice the line under the photo? "A snake similar to an African python". I guess they're technically not wrong as a BP is a python from Africa...

But how do you mistake this



for this



(Also, in case you're curious, that BP pic comes from a blog titled 'Dangerous Snakes' )

Apparently, all snakes are the same now, and 'journalists' can't even be bothered to google properly. Even if you type in 'African Python' you get pics of Rock Pythons, though I don't really know if that's being caused by the poopstorm around this story or not.