Boy decapitates snake, finds he was bitten

[News Bot]

A BOY did not even know he had been bitten by a highly venomous snake until he passed out after decapitating it.

Published On: 20-Apr-11 10:50 AM
Source: By Roanne Johnson via NEWS.com.au

Go to Original Article

 

[mumofsnakelover]

That is why I have taught my 4 children to stay still if they see a snake never run away and under no circumstances are they to pick it up, they are to come and tell me so that we can call a snake catcher to come and collect it. What they think is a harmless snake could in fact be a ven snake better to be safe than sorry!!!!

 

[mumofsnakelover]

Courier mail.com.au reported the EPA will not prosecute as he is a child!!!

 

[fugawi]

Serves himself right. The authorities should charge the family with taking a native from the wild and killing a native. If this was a cuddly koala, the ******* would hit the fan.

 

[mattG]

Protection for our aussie snakes isn't taken very seriously.

Does anybody know of a case where someone actually was prosecuted?

 

[harley0402]

stupid kid, he didnt need to kill it, he just needed to get his bloody dog away from it. I have taught my daughter to come and tell me if she sees a snake in the yard, or anywhere for that matter and not to touch it.

 

[harley0402]

it was only the other day that a guy was prosecuted for hitting a swan on the goldy with his jet ski. tell me.....whats the difference ?

 

[SYNeR]

it was only the other day that a guy was prosecuted for hitting a swan on the goldy with his jet ski. tell me.....whats the difference ?

Snakes are seen as vicious, whereas swans are seen as cute, elegant and graceful.
Sad, but true

 

[Elite_Reptiles]

Protection for our aussie snakes isn't taken very seriously.

Does anybody know of a case where someone actually was prosecuted?

Unfortunately no matt. I've reported quite a few cases doing relocation, but under privacy laws (which is bs), they don't let you know of the outcome? In my opinion, being a government corporation...sweet fa is done!

I was on the phone once with a bigpond customer and while I was talking on the phone with her, you could hear this banging in the background, she said excuse me for a moment and proceeded to yell out to her husband..."did you kill it, did you get it", she than said to me 'Sorry, there is another snake in the house and my husband just put a shovel through it's head'. ARGGHHHH!!!

I said to her do you realise they are a protected animal and you can be prosecuted for that, she said 'So, we get them in here all the time and it's easier just to kill them instead of paying someone to do it'.

As I had her all her information, I put her into the authorities with full details, such as address, ph number, everything. But a few weeks went by, so I called them and they said they are unable to advise on the outcome due to privacy laws etc? So in other words...Nothing was done!

 

[Fantazmic]

why didnt he move the dog away rather than grab the snake.......

he should be teaching the dog to back off not letting it see him dive in and grab the snake anyway

 

[moosenoose]

Protection for our aussie snakes isn't taken very seriously.

Does anybody know of a case where someone actually was prosecuted?

Nope, I don't.

Hence my reason in chasing up those idiots with the QEPA who were shooting snakes with a shotty from a speedboat during the height of the QLD floods. It's definitely not taken seriously enough imho.

 

[garthy]

[inappropriate comment deleted]. Surely he could be prosecuted, given that he had removed the threat by restraining the snake. Before he proceeded to kill it

Obviously you dont have kids of your own! what a stupid thing to say! Yes he did the wrong thing, but what if this was someone close to you and you heard people saying the same thing?

 

[waruikazi]

Oh c'mon you guys!

It's an eleven year old kid! I can almost tell you with certainty that it did not rear up at his dog, he would have found it, pinned it and picked it up. Then being incredibly pround of himself he would have gone home to show is Granparents who would have told him to kill it.

Kids that age act as they see other people do, wishing him dead is outragious!

 

[moosenoose]

I don't blame an 11yr old kid, that'd be pretty commonplace I'd imagine. The thing that bothers me though is the lack of prosecutions by places like the EPA and DSE in protecting supposedly "protected wildlife" from your everyday yobbo out there. Everybody knows you can kill these particular forms of native wildlife without fear of prosecution, and I think that is appalling.

 

[Elite_Reptiles]

Obviously you dont have kids of your own! what a stupid thing to say! Yes he did the wrong thing, but what if this was someone close to you and you heard people saying the same thing?

Why do human beings have this selfish attitude that we can kill what ever animal we like on this earth and it's all good??? But yet you kill a human being and there is public outrage?...

The person or persons committing the offence on another human being is immediately prosecuted, jailed for life, hung, given a lethal injection or in some countries...shot on the spot or stoned to death! Why don't these same laws apply to anyone killing an innocent animal. What, you think they don't have feelings or family too?

Look at the kid on the news recently that just got 100 hrs of community service for deliberately running over a beautiful swan with his jet ski (it was even caught on video), he got community service (a slap on the wrist)...you've got to be kidding me???...

They are still trying to find the dead swans partner, as they mate for life!

 

[sookie]

For shame....wishing death on an 11 yr old boy cos of a snake?mate you don't have kids do you?in any situation human life would come first over any animal.get your priorities in check.can you imagine his parents.......for shame.

 

[CrystalMoon]

I think unfortunately this was done out ignorance, by a boy on an adventure with his dog. I feel parents need to educate their Children/themselves more about our poor often misundstood wild life. I do hope the little chap gets better, shame the poor snake wont!

 

[MathewB]

I can't believe some of these comments. How could you wish that this 11yo kid die? I never thought the nice people on APS could say such a thing.

 

[Nathan_T]

Firstly, the people wishing that the kid died have a screw loose, and these are the kind of people that would be better off out of the hobby if we want to educate people about conservation of our wildlife. Secondly, how many snakes do you think would die if the newspapers reported that a child died after being bitten by a snake?

Secondly, on the subject of newsapers, the DECCW has its hands tied regarding prosecution. Firstly, you're suggesting that they try to prosecute an 11 year old. Secondly, if they do, the media will massacre them. It's an easy headline with "Government prosecutes 11 year old after he rescued his puppy", and that kind of sentiment costs votes.

 

[lisa5]

Doesn't sound like the kids fault, as bad as it seems. The grandparents sounds like they live on a property, therefore it would be likely for snakes to be found on the property. The real shame is that the parents or grandparents haven't educated the children properly what to do if they should do if they should come across a snake, like so many others in this discussion have pointed out. Yeah, it is bad for the kid and the snake, but perhaps if he was told otherwise it would not have happened. Calling the dog away or calling his granddad would have been a much better option. Glad the boy is okay and learns from his mistakes in the future (bad way to learn though).