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pet shop worker bitten by king cobra
- Thread starter fatbloke
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Last I heard he was recovering.
As for those who insist on commenting 'knowledgably' on new sites - we have some dimwitted, very ignorant people in this country.
As for those who insist on commenting 'knowledgably' on new sites - we have some dimwitted, very ignorant people in this country.
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This is one of my local herp shops and the guys are awesome, Adam is a great guy and apparently he is on the mend.
It pisses me off when papers get a quote from the RSPCA in cases like this because without fail they talk out of their backside.
The Cobra is not for sale, its in petes private collection, he has been keeping hots for ages and has waited twenty years to get the experiance necessary to keep a King.
The local news has been hyping it out of all proportion, making it sound like the Cobra got loose in the shop and was only just recaptured before escaping into the big wide open, utter crap :evil:
It pisses me off when papers get a quote from the RSPCA in cases like this because without fail they talk out of their backside.
The Cobra is not for sale, its in petes private collection, he has been keeping hots for ages and has waited twenty years to get the experiance necessary to keep a King.
The local news has been hyping it out of all proportion, making it sound like the Cobra got loose in the shop and was only just recaptured before escaping into the big wide open, utter crap :evil:
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glad to here he's on the mend
the papers or the RSPCA get it right
john
the papers or the RSPCA get it right
john
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The RSPCA very rarely seem to talk any sense when it comes to inverts or reptiles, they just seem to want to rattle on about how escaped Rosies are deadly or that reptiles shouldn't be kept as pets 
I'm just holding my breath and waiting to see if some local politician decides to make it his/her business and starts pushing for a complete ban on hots
I'm just holding my breath and waiting to see if some local politician decides to make it his/her business and starts pushing for a complete ban on hots
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Tainting the news
Let us examine this excellent example of biased reporting, deliberately trying to give readers a slant on the article.
"A pet shop worker is fighting for his life after he was bitten by a nine-foot King Cobra snake."
The key word is 'fighting'. Normal unbiased terminology, say, a victim of a vehicle accident, would be, in severe/critical condition. What is he doing, lying in the bed thrashing around?
"...after the snake attacked him at feeding time."
Attacked, or thought he was food, or impeding it in getting food? Snakes don't exactly 'attack' as mammals do. There is a significant difference between strike and 'rend and maim'.
"King Cobra venom is so potent that it can kill a man in 15 minutes without urgent medical attention."
Yes, so? Getting struck by a Ford can kill a man instantly. What is the point of reporting that tidbit at the beginning of this article and not in a infobit at the end?
Then it goes on the mention the rapid response which might have saved his life and a lurid little bit: "scream out in pain." Well, yes. A 9 foot king cobra is a powerful animal that puts a lot of force behind it's strike. How would the man have reacted if a 10 kilogram dog hit him at up to 40 miles an hour?
Just to make certain the article is paparazzi quality it goes on to indulge in lurid descriptions.
"He said: "Mr Ockwell would have been seriously ill very quickly. Breathing would become very difficult."
Would have? Would become difficult? Those are assumptions. Could we have a few facts in this farce?
"He would begin vomiting within minutes and would quickly start shaking and shivering and could fall unconscious." Nope, no facts yet. Assumptions and possibilities. What were the actual symptoms? Was the effects of the neurotoxin evident? Was there an anaphylactic reaction? What life saving procedures were undertaken and to what effect? Was there advanced life support required?
And the drivel goes on. Pure tainted biased reporting. Examine that article with a critical eye. What facts were presented? A man was bit by a cobra. He was taken to a hospital and treated. He remains in critical condition. All the rest is innuendo, assumptions, presumtions, possibilities, and generalities. What could be facts, the effects of a cobra bite, are wallowing in a morass of worst case suppositions.
What about the info on how the animals are treated in that shop in general? How long has it had dangerous animals and how many incidents like this one? How well cared for do the animals appear?
And as for the bite itself, it could be mentioned that sometimes the cobra fails to deliver venom when it bites. What exactly was the man doing that placed him in striking range of the cobra, most likely with the cobra in a raised up in a warning posture. What normal safeguards does that shop have? Did the man become complacent?
Perhaps the most relevant question of them all would be, did the snake manage to give a casual lateral strike, extremely unusual for a cobra, or was it raised up in threat mode? Cobras give plenty of warning as a rule, and need to be warmed up. They are incredibly fast when warm and agressive and anyone entering their area must exercise the extreme of caution. So the real bottom line, question is, did someone become careless and complacent?
This article reminds me of an incident that happened in Queensland a few years back. A woman, quite drunk, went for a moonlight swim in an estuary. She was attacked and killed by a crocodile. The local population, outraged by the incident and similar inciting lurid reporting, went out and slaughtered several crocodiles.
The real facts. Evening is hunting time for crocs. The woman, incapable of appearing as anything other than an easy meal went into the crocodile's primary feeding area. Essentially, she was wearing an 'eat me' sign. The crocodile reacted in a very normal and natural way.
Be it an estuary in Australia or a cage in an England pet shop, animals are going to act certain ways. The big clue is, if lumbering homo erectus never gets in their way, they aren't going to hold a meeting and go out and invade Sorbiton.
Let us examine this excellent example of biased reporting, deliberately trying to give readers a slant on the article.
"A pet shop worker is fighting for his life after he was bitten by a nine-foot King Cobra snake."
The key word is 'fighting'. Normal unbiased terminology, say, a victim of a vehicle accident, would be, in severe/critical condition. What is he doing, lying in the bed thrashing around?
"...after the snake attacked him at feeding time."
Attacked, or thought he was food, or impeding it in getting food? Snakes don't exactly 'attack' as mammals do. There is a significant difference between strike and 'rend and maim'.
"King Cobra venom is so potent that it can kill a man in 15 minutes without urgent medical attention."
Yes, so? Getting struck by a Ford can kill a man instantly. What is the point of reporting that tidbit at the beginning of this article and not in a infobit at the end?
Then it goes on the mention the rapid response which might have saved his life and a lurid little bit: "scream out in pain." Well, yes. A 9 foot king cobra is a powerful animal that puts a lot of force behind it's strike. How would the man have reacted if a 10 kilogram dog hit him at up to 40 miles an hour?
Just to make certain the article is paparazzi quality it goes on to indulge in lurid descriptions.
"He said: "Mr Ockwell would have been seriously ill very quickly. Breathing would become very difficult."
Would have? Would become difficult? Those are assumptions. Could we have a few facts in this farce?
"He would begin vomiting within minutes and would quickly start shaking and shivering and could fall unconscious." Nope, no facts yet. Assumptions and possibilities. What were the actual symptoms? Was the effects of the neurotoxin evident? Was there an anaphylactic reaction? What life saving procedures were undertaken and to what effect? Was there advanced life support required?
And the drivel goes on. Pure tainted biased reporting. Examine that article with a critical eye. What facts were presented? A man was bit by a cobra. He was taken to a hospital and treated. He remains in critical condition. All the rest is innuendo, assumptions, presumtions, possibilities, and generalities. What could be facts, the effects of a cobra bite, are wallowing in a morass of worst case suppositions.
What about the info on how the animals are treated in that shop in general? How long has it had dangerous animals and how many incidents like this one? How well cared for do the animals appear?
And as for the bite itself, it could be mentioned that sometimes the cobra fails to deliver venom when it bites. What exactly was the man doing that placed him in striking range of the cobra, most likely with the cobra in a raised up in a warning posture. What normal safeguards does that shop have? Did the man become complacent?
Perhaps the most relevant question of them all would be, did the snake manage to give a casual lateral strike, extremely unusual for a cobra, or was it raised up in threat mode? Cobras give plenty of warning as a rule, and need to be warmed up. They are incredibly fast when warm and agressive and anyone entering their area must exercise the extreme of caution. So the real bottom line, question is, did someone become careless and complacent?
This article reminds me of an incident that happened in Queensland a few years back. A woman, quite drunk, went for a moonlight swim in an estuary. She was attacked and killed by a crocodile. The local population, outraged by the incident and similar inciting lurid reporting, went out and slaughtered several crocodiles.
The real facts. Evening is hunting time for crocs. The woman, incapable of appearing as anything other than an easy meal went into the crocodile's primary feeding area. Essentially, she was wearing an 'eat me' sign. The crocodile reacted in a very normal and natural way.
Be it an estuary in Australia or a cage in an England pet shop, animals are going to act certain ways. The big clue is, if lumbering homo erectus never gets in their way, they aren't going to hold a meeting and go out and invade Sorbiton.
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Stable worker bitten by a horse
(I need to rewrite that newspaper story, using another actual incident)
A horse owner and stable worker is fighting for her lower lip after he was bitten by a 1200 pound horse.
Susan, age 22, was in a severe condition in hospital after the horse attacked her at feeding time. The bite of a large horse is so powerful that it can seriously maim a man in seconds, with or without urgent medical attention.
Susan was given a chance of full recovery only because a colleague drove at breakneck speeds through crowded Los Angeles streets to a qualified hospital.
Doctors managed to slow down the effects of the bite before administering reconstructive sugery, done by a doctor that had to be brought in from a nearby medical center.
Susan was later transferred to general care where her condition was described as stable. It is understood she was bitten shortly before 6pm on Tuesday, just before a Reptile Zone in Bristol was due to close.
The bite caused her to scream out in pain, sending stable manager RJ running the her aid. He carried her to his car and bundled her into the back seat.
No horse expert was available to comment on the incident but it was felt the promt action of the stable manager helped prevent permanent disfigurement.
He said: "Ms Susan was drenched in blood and was near fainting from both hemorragic and psychogenic shock.
"She could have begun vomiting within minutes and would quickly start shaking and shivering and could fall unconscious.
"The woman is very lucky that she had help so quickly and that the hospital was so close - those two facts almost certainly saved her from a horribly messed up smile."
The stable isn't fully licensed and its owner hasn't had a Dangerous Wild Animals licence for more than five years.
Yesterday one of Mr RJ's colleague's refused to comment on the bite, but said: "We adhere to the strictest health and safety standards in everything we do here and this is certainly an isolated incident."
The stable has about 15 corrals about 12 feet long, each containing horses including two utterly obnoxious and often vicious ponies.
The more hazardous horses are kept in a lock up at the back of the stable.
There was no spokesman for the SPCA available to comment on the incident but generally people were surprised a horse would, apparently, turn carniverous.
The stable manager said, "Stallions should be handled as little as possible and are extremely dangerous.
"They would only be a suitable pet for an absolute specialist and we certainly wouldn't recommend them for obvious reasons."
;P
(I need to rewrite that newspaper story, using another actual incident)
A horse owner and stable worker is fighting for her lower lip after he was bitten by a 1200 pound horse.
Susan, age 22, was in a severe condition in hospital after the horse attacked her at feeding time. The bite of a large horse is so powerful that it can seriously maim a man in seconds, with or without urgent medical attention.
Susan was given a chance of full recovery only because a colleague drove at breakneck speeds through crowded Los Angeles streets to a qualified hospital.
Doctors managed to slow down the effects of the bite before administering reconstructive sugery, done by a doctor that had to be brought in from a nearby medical center.
Susan was later transferred to general care where her condition was described as stable. It is understood she was bitten shortly before 6pm on Tuesday, just before a Reptile Zone in Bristol was due to close.
The bite caused her to scream out in pain, sending stable manager RJ running the her aid. He carried her to his car and bundled her into the back seat.
No horse expert was available to comment on the incident but it was felt the promt action of the stable manager helped prevent permanent disfigurement.
He said: "Ms Susan was drenched in blood and was near fainting from both hemorragic and psychogenic shock.
"She could have begun vomiting within minutes and would quickly start shaking and shivering and could fall unconscious.
"The woman is very lucky that she had help so quickly and that the hospital was so close - those two facts almost certainly saved her from a horribly messed up smile."
The stable isn't fully licensed and its owner hasn't had a Dangerous Wild Animals licence for more than five years.
Yesterday one of Mr RJ's colleague's refused to comment on the bite, but said: "We adhere to the strictest health and safety standards in everything we do here and this is certainly an isolated incident."
The stable has about 15 corrals about 12 feet long, each containing horses including two utterly obnoxious and often vicious ponies.
The more hazardous horses are kept in a lock up at the back of the stable.
There was no spokesman for the SPCA available to comment on the incident but generally people were surprised a horse would, apparently, turn carniverous.
The stable manager said, "Stallions should be handled as little as possible and are extremely dangerous.
"They would only be a suitable pet for an absolute specialist and we certainly wouldn't recommend them for obvious reasons."
;P
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Actually, from extensive observation, venemous snakes don't care where they live as long as they get to eat regularly.Crotalus said:
On the other hand, a whole lot of people don't belong in pet shops.
Hey Bedlam, is that a quote from an old Lon Chaney movie?
I would qualify things a little. I noticed someone mentioned the venemous snakes weren't 'for sale' but a private collection. So it wasn't, strictly speaking, in a pet shop.
Another aspect is keeping venemous snakes at all. When I worked at a nature center we had to play host to over 40 rattlers once. It was in the middle of summer and the terrariums were pretty warm. To say those slitherers were active would be an understatement of almost biblical proportions. To establish proper safety precautions the supervisor flatly established a rule before we got the snakes: No part of our anatomy EVER enters the containments! We had to invent mechanical delivery devices to shove the mice in. While it was a giant pain in the tukus come feeding time, the hazard was simply too great to take even the slightest chance.
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As the snark has said these snakes are part of a private collection so not actually for sale, some of them may be, privately, but only to DWA licence holders, who have proven themselves to be experienced enough, they are not available to just anyone off the street who decides they wanna keep a Diamond Back because they are cool.Crotalus said:
Pete is not some dodgy pet shop owner churning out badly cared for reptiles just to make cash, who keeps some hots on site to bring in the punters, he is a very experienced, respected keeper who's been keeping hots for years, he is passionate about snakes -and reptiles in general- and his animals are very well cared for, his hots are kept in a dedicated venomous snake area completely seperate from the "pet shop", think of him as a private collector -much like yourself- who just happens to run a herp shop.
Remember people could quite easily say the same about venomous snakes being kept in the homes of private individuals.
I understand he knows his snakes but in a home you dont have hundreds of people going inside the facility where the snakes are. To keep them in a petshop is asking for trouble when something like this happens.nightbreed said:Remember people could quite easily say the same about venomous snakes being kept in the homes of private individuals.
I hope the guy is doing well.
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Brilliantly done. If only you could send it out as a press release and let a wider audience see it.
The Snark said:
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Adam is a friend of mine and i hope he recovers quickly.
In the Swindon newspaper the RSPCA (The Royal Society for the Persecution of the keepers of Animals) said that " the king Cobra is a very rare snake and they were surprised it was being sold in a shop".
As has been stated it was not for sale and Kings aint what you would call rare, well not in thier homeland anyway.
WHY do the press always go to the RSPCA for information, they are the last people they should ask, it just makes thier articles look stupid.
Another thing with some UK reptile shops and keepers is that they often import animals for sale in the shop but also to Zoos etc, and much of this stock is housed in the shops prior to sale.
I hope this will die down quite quickly as this is the sort of thing the RSPCA will use to try to get thier ban on all constricting snakes over 6ft in lenght implemented.
Ray
In the Swindon newspaper the RSPCA (The Royal Society for the Persecution of the keepers of Animals) said that " the king Cobra is a very rare snake and they were surprised it was being sold in a shop".
As has been stated it was not for sale and Kings aint what you would call rare, well not in thier homeland anyway.
WHY do the press always go to the RSPCA for information, they are the last people they should ask, it just makes thier articles look stupid.
Another thing with some UK reptile shops and keepers is that they often import animals for sale in the shop but also to Zoos etc, and much of this stock is housed in the shops prior to sale.
I hope this will die down quite quickly as this is the sort of thing the RSPCA will use to try to get thier ban on all constricting snakes over 6ft in lenght implemented.
Ray
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- May 12, 2003
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- 149
This guy was from my local area also, those of you from Bristol, did anyone see the evening post image of the "king cobra" they had...it was a carpet python local media are so thick then it comes to getting facts straight or correct images.
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At the risk of sounding really heartless, and I mean no insult to the man who got bit. I mentioned this article to some of the local people around here.
Well, this is cobra country, not England. People can be a lot more practical and down to earth about things here. The response to this bite is pretty typical: So what? Stay away from those things.
So I point out that it was his job. The response to that is a shrug. <edit> happens.
It's funny how an incident in England can cause total outrage while somewhere else in the world you wouldn't even be able to talk the local newspapers into writing an article about it.
Speaking or which, (and this is another shrug and even chuckle around here), our world reknowned cobra handler (up the Mae Sa valley a few miles from here) finally got dead. Bitten dozens of times over the years, he apparently got a lethal load from a very big king.
Well, this is cobra country, not England. People can be a lot more practical and down to earth about things here. The response to this bite is pretty typical: So what? Stay away from those things.
So I point out that it was his job. The response to that is a shrug. <edit> happens.
It's funny how an incident in England can cause total outrage while somewhere else in the world you wouldn't even be able to talk the local newspapers into writing an article about it.
Speaking or which, (and this is another shrug and even chuckle around here), our world reknowned cobra handler (up the Mae Sa valley a few miles from here) finally got dead. Bitten dozens of times over the years, he apparently got a lethal load from a very big king.
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