Girl, 2, strangled by pet python, police say

[SwizzleStick]

"Girl, 2, strangled by pet python, police say
The snakes are not native to Florida, but many people keep them as pets

OXFORD, Fla. - A 2-year-old girl apparently was strangled Wednesday by her family’s 8-foot-long pet Burmese python, officials said. "…

Full article here: msnbc.msn.com/id/31684161/ns/us_news-life/

 

[SwizzleStick]

I wonder how often this type of thing has to happen, how many children have to die, before people with small children stop keeping these dangerous animals as pets? The thing that makes me so angry is that either these people did not know that the snake was dangerous to the child(ren) or they simply did not entertain the possibility that anything could ever really happen to one of the children, and thus were casual about keeping the snake contained. That is just madness! I think the snake could have been dangerous to an adult as well, but I wonder if these folks considered that either. The negligence is just criminal. We adults are supposed to protect our children and those we love, not willingly have them exposed to dangerous living conditions.

May the poor little baby girl, Shaunia, rest in peace. Poor little thing, what a horrible way to die that must have been. I cannot bear to think about the fear, pain and suffering of her death. I also pray for the surviving children that God bears them up in this time of horror, loss and sadness. Also, as angry as I am at the adults, I expect that their suffering over this will be great, so perhaps they too may find some bit of peace someday too.

 

[JPUSC]

 

[HickmanJosh]

My thoughts exactly.

Let us Pray for her and her family.

 

[SwizzleStick]

The article at the link below indicates that the snake had gotten out once before the same night. Also, it has a picture of the snake. I don’t know much about snakes, but it appears to me that the snake was large enough to be dangerous to anyone, child or adult. This is criminal negligence, pure and simple, and I hope someone is charged with a crime for this. This child is already lost and that is tragic, but if there are serious consequences for the adults, perhaps that will wake up other people in similar situations and result in protecting other children from such stupidity.

foxnews.com/story/0,2933,529709,00.html

 

[Neil_Anthony]

Gee, who would have thought that a python could be dangerous to a baby.

 

[whatevergirl]

I wonder how often this type of thing has to happen, how many children have to die, before people with small children stop keeping these dangerous animals as pets? The thing that makes me so angry is that either these people did not know that the snake was dangerous to the child(ren) or they simply did not entertain the possibility that anything could ever really happen to one of the children, and thus were casual about keeping the snake contained. That is just madness! I think the snake could have been dangerous to an adult as well, but I wonder if these folks considered that either. The negligence is just criminal. We adults are supposed to protect our children and those we love, not willingly have them exposed to dangerous living conditions.

May the poor little baby girl, Shaunia, rest in peace. Poor little thing, what a horrible way to die that must have been. I cannot bear to think about the fear, pain and suffering of her death. I also pray for the surviving children that God bears them up in this time of horror, loss and sadness. Also, as angry as I am at the adults, I expect that their suffering over this will be great, so perhaps they too may find some bit of peace someday too.

*My dh thinks the parents should do jail time, as he feels it’s equal to leaving a loaded gun on a kitchen table for a kid to stumble upon. Maybe. I don’t think so, I am angry with the parents, this was a death that could have been easily avoided…but, they are heartbroken, not like it was on purpose! So, what would jail time do, really? I doubt they will ever own one of these things again, let’s hope.

It’s such a terrible terrible tragedy, I just keep envisioning in my mind that poor baby being taken over by that snake and so scared. The snake, he was just looking for food…they are predators that just go on instinct. I am so saddened by this. *

 

[whatevergirl]

The article at the link below indicates that the snake had gotten out once before the same night. Also, it has a picture of the snake. I don’t know much about snakes, but it appears to me that the snake was large enough to be dangerous to anyone, child or adult. This is criminal negligence, pure and simple, and I hope someone is charged with a crime for this. This child is already lost and that is tragic, but if there are serious consequences for the adults, perhaps that will wake up other people in similar situations and result in protecting other children from such stupidity.

foxnews.com/story/0,2933,529709,00.html

*Interesting, I didn’t know this happened during the same night! That does make me upset. Not that it matters all that much, but apparently one needs a license to own one of these snakes, and the couple didn’t have a license. I think they are heartbroken, but I’m sorry to say, kind of ignorant, and awfully trusting that their snake wouldn’t attack and kill someone. *

 

[Feanor2]

People just need to get a frigging dog or cat. I am angry with the stupidity of this tragedy.

 

[whatevergirl]

*A little off topic, but think you’ll all find this fascinating…my husband told me he was watching a local news show recently, and the anchor was telling a story about how families who owned exotic type snakes, etc…about 10 or so years ago, had to let them go because of hurricanes. Well, NOW, these things have multiplied in the everglades in south florida, and are EVERYWHERE in the woods here in Florida…and are coming north. I was like…what? He said they have been coming into people’s yards, and eating dogs, cats, etc…(python type snakes)

Florida is so bizarre. lol *

 

[aicirt]

People bring these exotics in to the country. This should be prohibited as well as the sale of exotics.

The home in question had three snakes including a boa. The mother had three kids and they were living with her boyfriend, the owner of the snakes.

The Florida Everglades are loaded with them. These snakes have no adverseries. They climb trees. I’m sure there are many, many others in the wild throughout the US. People get tired of them, they get too big, and they release them. What a surprise when you are out in the wild totally unsuspecting of meeting anything like this. When hungry, they can travel into backyards where there are small children and pets. And it is not too difficult for them to get into a house.

The hurricanes which attacked the Everglades were a blessing because they killed off a lot of these snakes. But that is not enough. They need to be hunted and laws are needed prohibiting them here.

 

[opiemuyo]

People just need to get a frigging dog or cat. I am angry with the stupidity of this tragedy.

Sometimes I think we are to wealthy for our own good. Who can afford to keep a animal like that?

 

[jmcrae]

Astounding.

 

[whatevergirl]

Sometimes I think we are to wealthy for our own good. Who can afford to keep a animal like that?

*They didn’t look wealthy, from what I saw on the local news. But, I just can’t fathom the reason for owning one. *

 

[Nicollle]

I seriously can’t stand people who take animals out of their natural habitat! It’s like playing God! Have they not heard of cats and dogs?

 

[Father_of_9]

Any parent who loves their child(ren) should use their brain and ask “What if?” before buying any kind of pet. Young children are especially vulnerable when an animal decides to act instinctively. While it’s true that parents can be heartbroken when incidents like this occur, they must be held accountable by the law for their negligence.

 

[RWMorris]

I seriously can’t stand people who take animals out of their natural habitat! It’s like playing God! Have they not heard of cats and dogs?

Having a cat or dog in your house is taking it out of its natural habitat. No animal should ever be left unsupervised with any infant, or even a toddler. And that includes access to a child while it is sleeping. This is an absolute rule, no matter how sweet you think fido or kitty is. All it takes is once.

 

[musicality]

It seems that everyone is railing against these parents (and owning snakes in general), so I’m inclined to play devil’s advocate. Just for some perspective, I used to work at a zoo:

We should start off knowing that any pet has the potential to be dangerous, whether it’s a snake, a hamster, a cat, or a dog…

I seriously can’t stand people who take animals out of their natural habitat! It’s like playing God! Have they not heard of cats and dogs?

Cats and dogs are now domesticated, but they weren’t always that way.

The Florida Everglades are loaded with them. These snakes have no adverseries. They climb trees. I’m sure there are many, many others in the wild throughout the US. People get tired of them, they get too big, and they release them. What a surprise when you are out in the wild totally unsuspecting of meeting anything like this. When hungry, they can travel into backyards where there are small children and pets. And it is not too difficult for them to get into a house.

The hurricanes which attacked the Everglades were a blessing because they killed off a lot of these snakes. But that is not enough. They need to be hunted and laws are needed prohibiting them here.

You make some a good point that people get tired of snakes and release them (which is obviously a terrible idea). However, your assertion that the hurricanes were blessings is absurd. The hurricanes did not kill off snakes, they destroyed pet stores and other places where snakes are stored, allowing them to escape into the wild.

What I’m getting at is the fact that I think CAF is quick to judge this family for a mistake that could have been as simple as improperly securing a latch on the snake’s enclosure after a long day. It seems that we sometimes forget that people deserve the benefit of the doubt, even if it seems plainly obvious to us that what they did was wrong.

All this being said, I will say that snakes like this one should only be owned by people who are experienced with reptiles and who know how to properly secure them. I will also say that it is a poor idea to have a child living in an area with this kind of animal as they cannot be considered domesticated no matter how docile they seem.

This is a tragedy, and our prayers should be with the family.

EDIT: I should also mention that the fact that the man did not possess a permit does have an impact on this situation. Laws about possession of animals exist to protect people from situations like this.

 

[RWMorris]

… We should start off knowing that any pet has the potential to be dangerous, whether it’s a snake, a hamster, a cat, or a dog…

I agree wholeheartedly, but please tell me you lost control of your fingers and didn’t mean to make the following statement:

… I think CAF is quick to judge this family for a mistake that could have been as simple as improperly securing a latch on the snake’s enclosure after a long day …

 

[aicirt]

It seems that everyone is railing against these parents (and owning snakes in general), so I’m inclined to play devil’s advocate. Just for some perspective, I used to work at a zoo:

We should start off knowing that any pet has the potential to be dangerous, whether it’s a snake, a hamster, a cat, or a dog…

Cats and dogs are now domesticated, but they weren’t always that way.

You make some a good point that people get tired of snakes and release them (which is obviously a terrible idea). However, your assertion that the hurricanes were blessings is absurd. The hurricanes did not kill off snakes, they destroyed pet stores and other places where snakes are stored, allowing them to escape into the wild.

What I’m getting at is the fact that I think CAF is quick to judge this family for a mistake that could have been as simple as improperly securing a latch on the snake’s enclosure after a long day. It seems that we sometimes forget that people deserve the benefit of the doubt, even if it seems plainly obvious to us that what they did was wrong.

All this being said, I will say that snakes like this one should only be owned by people who are experienced with reptiles and who know how to properly secure them. I will also say that it is a poor idea to have a child living in an area with this kind of animal as they cannot be considered domesticated no matter how docile they seem.

This is a tragedy, and our prayers should be with the family.

EDIT: I should also mention that the fact that the man did not possess a permit does have an impact on this situation. Laws about possession of animals exist to protect people from situations like this.

Bottom line is we don’t need these exotic snakes in the US. Stop the importation and go clean them out where possible.