By Peter McLaren-Kennedy • Published: 15 Apr 2022 • 12:17
Snakes alive, the owner isn’t Source: Ghorayr
The 49-year-old man who pronounced dead at the scene was found by a neighbour who checked on his property after not seeing him for a day. Looking through the window he saw the man lying on the floor so he called the police.
Police officers who broke into the home found the unresponsive man and a collection of 124 snakes. The “pets” who were apparently all appropriately caged, included many venomous snakes including rattlesnakes, cobras, black mambas, and a 14-foot-long Burmese python.
Charles County spokeswoman Jennifer Harris said: “Our chief animal control officer said in his more than 30 years of experience, he had not encountered this kind of thing before.” She added all the snakes had been removed to safety where they were being cared for.
Answering neighbours’ concerns Harris said: “They were all very properly secured. They were racked. He did not keep a lot of furniture inside the home, so there was no place if a snake, for example, were to escape, where it could hide or harm anybody.”
According to the authorities a number of the snakes that were being kept as pets were illegal in Maryland.
The Chief Medical Examiner who make public his findings this week, said that cause of death was “snake envenomation,” with WRC-TV saying that police had ruled the death accidental in the case of snakes alive, but the sadly the owner is no longer.
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Originally from South Africa, Peter is based on the Costa Blanca and is a web reporter for the Euro Weekly News covering international and Spanish national news. Got a news story you want to share? Then get in touch at editorial@euroweeklynews.com.
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