Python bites kid, what do you think of this?

skippy

Arachnoangel
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Jan 6, 2009
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926
do you even need to ask? i doubt anyone here would be clamoring for the snakes head.

i would want the medical expenses paid for and perhaps an apology depending on the incident... otherwise, no harm done really.

(probably not what will happen, just what i think should happen)
 

H. laoticus

Arachnoprince
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Mar 11, 2009
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1,017
It definitely shouldn't be put down. What do they expect, the snake to give people hugs? This reminds me of that recent incident with the mother bear and her cubs. Some people were camping, got attacked and I believe one man died. They decided to hunt the mother down to kill her AND the cubs because the cubs "saw" the mother and would learn from her. I recall the woman saying something along the lines of: "I have to believe the bear wasn't acting normally." What ridiculousness. It was a very tragic event, but it's sad that the bears have to pay the price for people who decide to sleep in bear territory. Maybe it's the care bears or fluffy teddy bears, but people really need to wake up and realize that bears aren't cuddly and they don't give heart warming hugs.
 

Kathy

Arachnoangel
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Apr 4, 2009
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H. Laoticus - Yeah, I agree. I remember that bear story, I cried. That is when I sometimes say I hate humans. :( But the mother of the kid now wants the snake destroyed and I know how much they love that snake. This story is personal to me.
 

blacktara

Arachnobaron
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Jan 23, 2005
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355
The sad thing is that the kid's dad has hired an attorney

No harm no foul

And besides, you dont wanna risk anything happening, then dont take part in handling the snake

No the snake shouldnt be put down
 

starlight_kitsune

Arachnoknight
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Sep 9, 2010
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197
Of course they shouldn't put down the snake.

Although perhaps this isn't the best site to get an unbiased opinion on the matter.
 

Earthworm Soul

Arachnosquire
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Aug 11, 2007
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84
The sad thing is that the kid's dad has hired an attorney

No harm no foul

And besides, you dont wanna risk anything happening, then dont take part in handling the snake

No the snake shouldnt be put down
It pains me to agree with Blacktara, but this is pure ridiculousness.
 

pouchedrat

Arachnolord
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Aug 17, 2008
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614
of course not, snake shouldnt' be put down, and I'm speaking as a parent of two small kids. I've never understood that logic anyway, to immediately destroy something that bites, but then again I've been bitten by tons of weird creatures in my life and learn each time, nothing serious. If you're going to be around the animal and handle it and such, know the risks ahead of time. There's always that 1% chance something might happen that wasn't stopped fast enough, or couldn't be prevented.

But you know, most of us are snake or exotic owners on these boards
 

KoffinKat138

Arachnoknight
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Nov 21, 2008
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215
The Snake shouldnt be put down. For all we know, the kid could have been petting a dog or somthing and the snake could have picked up the scent and acted on a natural feeding response. If anything it should atleast be retired, that way if somthing ever else went down they would have a cause to put it to sleep.
 

the toe cutter

Arachnobaron
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Mar 20, 2010
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The snake should definately not be put down, but the handlers should have been taking more precautions. I show off my herps and inverts often, but never would I let a child anywhere near the "pointy" end of any of them, mainly because of trauma and stress to the animal. Scales n Tails is Mark M. Lucas' shop and they are fantastic professionals and have been in the Herp community for a VERY long time, and I know they will bounce back pretty quick from that incident. Just hope they use more caution next time!
 

Kathy

Arachnoangel
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Apr 4, 2009
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The snake should definately not be put down, but the handlers should have been taking more precautions. I show off my herps and inverts often, but never would I let a child anywhere near the "pointy" end of any of them, mainly because of trauma and stress to the animal. Scales n Tails is Mark M. Lucas' shop and they are fantastic professionals and have been in the Herp community for a VERY long time, and I know they will bounce back pretty quick from that incident. Just hope they use more caution next time!
Actually that one is in Florida with a similar name - this one is in Utah and owned by my niece and her husband.
 

pitbulllady

Arachnoking
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May 1, 2004
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This is one of the nastier side effects of what I've termed the "Disneyfication" of animals-giving all animals humans traits, especially the ability to judge THEIR actions by OUR moral/ethical standards. It's also an inevitable side-effect of the Animal Rights movement. Accountability is an inseparable aspect of having rights; if you do something that is deemed bad or wrong by general consensus, you should be held accountable for your actions, therefore if we are to believe that animals have "rights", it follows logically that they should also be held accountable for their behavior.

Of course I do not believe that, but many people, even those who would not ordinarily consider themselves AR supporters, have been so brainwashed by a combination of AR rhetoric and lack of personal experience with animals due to our increasingly urbanized society, DO believe it. I was raised, along with many rural folk here in the Southern US, to believe that "if it has a mouth, it can bite, and IF you get bitten, first question what YOU did wrong". Basically, animal bites, kicks, scratches, etc., were seen as an inevitable occurance if you chose to live around animals and put yourself in close proximity to them, and for the most part, were seen as evidence that YOU messed up and did something you shouldn't have done, and got bitten as a result. Most people willingly accepted that animals pretty much were instinct-driven, and were not capable of making decisions or choices regarding their own behavior based on any sense of moral right or wrong, and that only humans could be held accountable for things that happened to themselves. If you don't want to take a chance of your kid being bitten by a snake, keep it a respectable distance from the snake. Don't want your kid getting kicked in the head by a horse, make sure he doesn't walk behind the horse. While some of the responsibility here falls on the owners of the snake for not controlling it, allowing its head to be free enough to bite, the parents are also responsible. The snake was simply responding to a stimulus and should not in way be held responsible for just being an animal.

pitbulllady
 

Dyn

Arachnobaron
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Oct 5, 2009
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364
The snake no... The "handlers" yes.

I've done reptile shows before that had kids next to a large burmese python. I NEVER let go of the snakes head when the kids are that close. There is really no excuse for the snake able to bite a kid 2 feet from it. The handlers should have had better control over the situation. They say that they will do it from now but it should have been done the whole time.
 

whitewolf

Arachnolord
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Nov 11, 2008
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100% agree with Pitbulllady and everyone else. Don't allow your kid to participate if you don't want them to get bit. If you or you allow someone like your child to touch an animal expect that for whatever reason the animal could bite. Every animal has the potential to bite.
 

rustym3talh3ad

Arachnoangel
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Sep 22, 2008
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The snake no... The "handlers" yes.

I've done reptile shows before that had kids next to a large burmese python. I NEVER let go of the snakes head when the kids are that close. There is really no excuse for the snake able to bite a kid 2 feet from it. The handlers should have had better control over the situation. They say that they will do it from now but it should have been done the whole time.
I would have to slightly disagree. This company that puts on these shows for kids are most likely highly trained professionals or at least know what is going on and should be allowed to do said shows. This is a case by case issue...this wasn't some idiot letting kids play with his python in a backyard, these were intelligent and ethically responsible people trying to show kids a good time. There's a risk with every animal when being in a group of people (young or old) from the nicest dog to the deadliest of reptiles. This had to have been as stated a response to something. Whether the animal felt threatened or hurt or smelled something that was mistakenly seen as food. I feel no one is to blame for this, not the kid, not the keepers and DEFINITELY not the snake.
 

Dyn

Arachnobaron
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Oct 5, 2009
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I would have to slightly disagree. This company that puts on these shows for kids are most likely highly trained professionals or at least know what is going on and should be allowed to do said shows. This is a case by case issue...this wasn't some idiot letting kids play with his python in a backyard, these were intelligent and ethically responsible people trying to show kids a good time. There's a risk with every animal when being in a group of people (young or old) from the nicest dog to the deadliest of reptiles. This had to have been as stated a response to something. Whether the animal felt threatened or hurt or smelled something that was mistakenly seen as food. I feel no one is to blame for this, not the kid, not the keepers and DEFINITELY not the snake.
This is from the article "From now on the handler's not only going to be near the head, he's going to be the only one holding the head. She [the python] still had some reach distance. We're going to have the kids hold from the middle back," says Richens.

This tells me two things.
1. That the handlers possibly werent by the head
2. They were letting children hold the head of the snake. Those are two things you should never let happen when "displaying" a large python.

I'd never let anyone pet or hold the head of the snake. There is no telling what they may have on their hands or what kind of scents they could be carrying. He could have just been playing with a pet mouse or rat and now the snake links the smell with food. This accident is 100% at fault of the handlers at the show. If they had been highly trained professionals they wouldnt have let these two things happen.
 

AprilH

Petridish
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Oct 2, 2005
Messages
85
I have to agree that the handlers were at fault here. When I do hands-on events for our herp society, one of the main rules that must be followed is that we maintain control of the head at all times. We cannot allow people to hold the animal, or to approach the head at all. That all may sound overly cautious, but when dealing with the general public, it's not.
 
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