Ever wonder how you get a python purse?

[BPelizabeth]

I am not even going to watch this at all. I will stick my head in the sand!!

[rebel750]

The day the unthinkable happens to my Burm I have plans on having the skin tanned or whatever you would call it for snakes.

Killing them for the skins to me is a no no, but if it's just her time and she passes then I will make sure her memory lives on.

[WingedWolfPsion]

Easy, now--see the man with the wood post? He's crushing their heads. It's brutal, but pretty effective--brain death. The snakes are still moving, but they're brain-dead. Reptiles can 'live' for a long time with no head--they certainly aren't feeling pain in such circumstance.

It's not impossible that he might miss one, or not do a good job, but it's not very likely that the snakes are feeling pain after their heads have been smashed. Most of them aren't feeling anything, even if their bodies still move. The guy doing the inflating would send them back to the killer if they were struggling to get away--he's got no desire to be bitten or fight with one. They are therefore entirely dead, or unconscious.

Movement doesn't signify life in a snake. This isn't a pretty scene, but they aren't skinning the animals alive.

[Shieny]

Poor snakes... I knew I should even have clicked it...

[pavlovk1025]

The same could be said Tim about butchering cattle.

People in India would be horrified to see it happening.

It's just their way of life and how they make a living over there.

It hits home for us because we love these animals, so its definitely sad to see.

+1

Easy, now--see the man with the wood post? He's crushing their heads. It's brutal, but pretty effective--brain death. The snakes are still moving, but they're brain-dead. Reptiles can 'live' for a long time with no head--they certainly aren't feeling pain in such circumstance.

It's not impossible that he might miss one, or not do a good job, but it's not very likely that the snakes are feeling pain after their heads have been smashed. Most of them aren't feeling anything, even if their bodies still move. The guy doing the inflating would send them back to the killer if they were struggling to get away--he's got no desire to be bitten or fight with one. They are therefore entirely dead, or unconscious.

Movement doesn't signify life in a snake. This isn't a pretty scene, but they aren't skinning the animals alive.

I can appreciate that you two viewed that with an open mind.


These animals are part of a trade, and as sad as it is to us, it's the way they make a living over there. I have seen cows gone to the slaughter and am not boycotting steak. Disturbing as these videos may be, they definitely arent offensive or wrong IMO, just another muckraking type video of a controversial industry.

[Tim Mead]

Why of course their filmed to elicit reaction and EVERY culture has their own traditions,beliefs and ways of living..The big kicker for me is these animals are likely wild caught..If we( human race) farm something then it is done so for a purpose and acceptable in my eyes..On science daily their talking about the need for aqua culture due to the over harvesting of seafood..We, human race again often do not see something until its too late..We, us here raised both pigs and calves for meat..But that was the purpose of and they were not pulled from the wilds..Humans are and always be consumers but education will make a smarter consumer and such will ensure we always have that item/s to consume..

[AaronP]

It saddens me to see such beautiful specimens crushed, inflated, and skinned but people have to make a living and feed their families.

Truth is if their wasn't a market for it, there wouldn't be a supply, and there will always be a market.

[WingedWolfPsion]

We have far more to do to save those species than curtailing a trade in their skins--their habitat is what's truly endangered right now. Without that, they don't have a prayer of surviving in the wild. The pythons shown are already widely captive-bred, so the species itself isn't in danger of extinction.

The snakes are beautiful, and I couldn't help but think, it's no surprise that people want their skins. The markings are gorgeous. I would rather see the animal alive, and it's sad that they are collected from the wild in such numbers for skins, but I understand it. Starving people aren't worried about niceties like 'hey, I wonder how many of them are left in the wild'.
If they weren't being killed for their skins, they would be killed and eaten anyhow. Parts of the snakes and monitors were also clearly being harvested for traditional medicine. I find it unlikely that the meat went to waste either. Slaughterhouse hygiene isn't up to our standards over there.

[CoolioTiffany]

I actually have seen all of these videos just last night. I'm not grossed out, but shocked that something like this has to happen. But they probably feel offended by us slaughtering cows, goats & other mammals that are sacred to them.