Wow, that's disturbing. I have no doubt that small animals put up for "adoption" may sometimes meet such fates in private hands, but you sure don't expect anyone representing a large shelter to be involved in such deception, especially on such a massive scale.
No matter how logical this "solution" may seem to snake-keepers (or to an overcrowded shelter, for that matter), this doesn't warm the public's heart toward reptile keepers in general.No one appreciates deception. It would be as if one of us put a pet snake up for adoption & got reassurances that it was going to a "good home", then found out someone fed it to their king cobra. And "no-kill" Humane Society shelters often rely on volunteers as foster- care for "unusual" pets until homes can be found for them- I can well imagine how the staff & volunteers felt after getting this news, after putting in all that effort to save them.
It's horror stories like this that makes people push to ban snake-keeping...that's why this story should matter to all of us.