Man Gets Jail For Feeding Puppy To Snake

[DS1]

PHOENIX -- An Arizona man who coated a 3-week-old puppy in cooking oil and fed it to his pet boa constrictor has been sentenced to 90 days in jail.

The man must also serve two years of probation. He pleaded guilty to animal cruelty in March and spent 51 days in jail while his case was pending.

Police said the man poured cooking oil onto the mixed-breed puppy to make it easier for the snake to swallow. He then fed the snake as two 15-year-old boys watched.


http://www.wgal.com/news/13509528/detail.html


Sidenote: Snake owners are some demented sick fucks. I'm so glad I'm no longer engaged to one. Shit.

[Zuiderelle]

1. Wow.

That is one sick fuck.

:popcorn:

[matcom]

2. EVOO?

:hide:

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

22. YUMMO!!

:hide:

Ick, I feel dirty for typing that, even in jest...

[skygazer]

3. You know, I realize snakes have to eat too

But that's just sick and cruel. And a charming example for those kids. :eyes:

[mopinko]

4. yeah, pet snakes

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=105&topic_id=6616228&mesg_id=6616228:scared: :scared: :scared:

[B3Nut]

5. "Snake owners are some demented sick fucks"

Generalize much? This knobshine was certainly a first-class nincompoop, but most of the folks I know in the herp community are good people, and more scientifically-literate than your average bear. Lower number of fundies too, since you really can't avoid believing in the scientific fact of evolution and study reptiles too.

Live-feeding is frowned upon, btw. My little baby corn snake eats thawed frozen pinkie mice from Mad Cat. They make great treats for the bearded dragons, too.

And nothing beats huge pythons and boas at reptile shows for photo ops... http://picasaweb.google.com/theb3nut/ReptilePhotoBoothFollies :D

Todd in Cheesecurdistan, member Chicago Herpetological Society

[Midlodemocrat]

6. "Snake owners are some demented sick fucks"

I'm with you. My neighbor used to smash mice on her kitchen counter and feed it to the snakes.

:puke:

And, now her son is a drug dealer. Coincidence? I don't think so.

[Lyric]

7. As a former snake owner, I guess I'm going to be the bad guy, but

I think this is just bullsh*t. Would the charge have been the same if he'd have broken the puppy's neck first? Or would *that* have brought a charge of animal cruelty as well?

If the issue is just live-feeding, I can understand it. But if it's because it was a puppy rather than a rabbit, a rat, a chicken, etc.--why should a 3 week old puppy have more rights than a full-grown rabbit? I owned a large snake myself, although mine was not a boa--I had a Burmese Python. My snake currently lives with one of the Biology professors at WVU, where she's been happy and healthy for nearly 8 years now. ThinkBlue1966 has an aunt who also raises large snakes, and has been doing so for nearly 30 years. She has entire rooms of her house devoted to her snakes, and is licensed and certified in wildlife rehabilitation. She's one of the angels in North Carolina who is called upon to adopt snakes that other people are mistreating, abusing, or just aren't equipped to care for. That's also how I got *my* python--a friend wound up with a snake he couldn't care for properly, and I volunteered to take care of her myself, and then found her a proper forever-home when she outgrew my ability to care for her. Her name was Cleopatra (I called her Caty) and I *still* miss her.

Trish (Thinkblue's aunt) feeds her snakes rabbits and chickens. She breaks the necks of the animals before she feeds them, but still--animals die so the snakes can live. It isn't the snake's fault that it's living in captivity. Trish's snakes are FAR too large to subsist on mice and rats. She has reticulated pythons, huge redtailed boas, and everything in between.

Snakes have to eat. It's no more cruel to feed a snake a 3-week old puppy than to feed it a rabbit or a chicken. If the charges here are simply because the puppy was still alive, I'll shut up and gripe no more about it. But if the problem is that it was a puppy rather than a chicken or a rabbit--well, I know people who keep and train rabbits, and they can make amazing house pets too. It isn't fair to punish someone for feeding the snake something that other people would consider a pet.

Yes, I tend to get defensive about this issue. I've seen too many snakes fall prey to people who have no idea how to care for them, or who want to pass moral judgements on their handlers for their feeding methods. I look forward to the day when keeping anything larger than a Ball python as a pet is illegal without certification, but until then, I'll be highly suspect of cases like this.

[Midlodemocrat]

8. I think it is because we don't normally think of puppies as food.

Chickens, sure. Rabbits, even. But puppies and kittens are generally considered pets and not food.

And, I agree with you, it's not the snake's fault. My neighbor grossed me out though with smashing the mice on the counter and I DESPISE rodents.

[DS1]

9. I don't so much care what it was fed

but people who enjoy reptiles give me the creeps.

[Lyric]

16. I wouldn't say that I "enjoy" reptiles

It's more than I recognized that Caty was never going to make it as a wild snake, and *someone* needed to care for her. I'm not frightened of snakes, so I volunteered. But she went to live with one of the local Biology profs years and years ago--even before I met ThinkBlue1966, and we've been together nearly 8 years.

Snakes are terrible as pets. They're *reptiles*. There aren't any cuddly snuggly instincts there. If the tolerate your presence, it's because you provide food and warmth--nothing more. I'll never understand why people keep snakes as pets.

[Lyric]

11. *nods* That's my issue, though.

It bothers me that someone *might* have been convicted of a crime that has little to do with being unnecessarily cruel to an animal, and more to do with offending the sensibilities of people who consider dogs to be "pets" and rabbits/chickens to be "expendable".

I could be wrong--I don't deny that. If the charge was just because the puppy was still alive when he fed it to the snake, I have no beef with that. That *is* cruel, and I have no argument about that. Nobody I know feeds live animals--it isn't safe for the snake, and it's certainly not kind to the food animal. But putting someone in jail because our society values cute little puppies over rabbits or chickens is WAY too subjective to seem fair to me.

[flvegan]

10. Because the animal was a puppy

the charge would be appropriate regardless of how a live puppy because lunch. Chickens and rodents aren't protected by laws (including the AWA, last time I checked), whereas most other animals are.

[Lyric]

12. I'm not talking about the law as it stands

I'm talking about my POV. I know it probably makes me sound rather ridiculous, but I don't believe that dogs and cats should be held to higher standards than other animals. Like I said, I am 100% behind any law that would make keeping large snakes as pets illegal. But in the meantime, I think the life of a rabbit or a chicken is worth every bit as much as the life of a 3 week old puppy. It bothers me that our legal system doesn't feel the same way. I've seen rabbits use a litter box and play fetch. I've seen chickens that were trained to "count" and snuggled with people on their couches, heads tucked under their wings. I don't understand how the law can differentiate between them like this.

What bothers me is the inconsistency of the law, more than anything. If it's okay to feed a terrified rabbit to a snake, why not a puppy? In my perfect world, keeping big snakes would be illegal and rabbits and chickens would be as protected by the law as dogs and cats are.
Just my personal opinion. :hi:

[flvegan]

13. I

agree that the law should not differentiate between animals. They should all be afforded protection, but that would make a LOT of corporations pretty pissed off, so you know what that means.

I have a rescued rabbit here, and I've risked my safety and freedom to save chickens, so I completely get what you're saying.

[Lyric]

14. Oh, you do? Awesome!

I used to have house rabbits. They are *amazing* animals, and are capable of SO much more than people give them credit for, truly. I got mine one at a time from two local farms who were selling them as "feeders" or quarry for hound training. One was a Flemish giant, one was a little bitty dwarf, but they got along admirably. Unfortunately, both passed away 2 years ago--one from old age, one from enteritis caused by the stress of moving to a new house (for which I will probably feel eternally guilty). Rabbits have very sensitive digestive systems, and dwarfs even more so than the larger varieties. Their names were Spooky and Mischa. They never spent a single day outside after I brought them home, and used a litter box inside just as easily as our cats. They played fetch with toilet paper tubes and paper towel rolls, and would do cartwheels in the middle of the floor when they were particularly happy. They are an absolute joy to have around, and after I found the House Rabbit Society (http://www.rabbit.org/) there was no way I could ever keep them caged up and live with myself. If you haven't seen their site, I highly recommend it. I've been a member for years, even though I don't have rabbits anymore. (I have a Golden Retriever and there are potential conflicts there--I don't want the poor things to live in terror, after all)

My Mom and stepfather have 2 chickens, but they aren't meant for eating. They're pets, and most of the time they wander in and out of their fenced front yard, and onto the screened front porch. Whenever they decide to lay eggs, my Mom collects them of course, because they're infertile and rotten eggs are *icky* but otherwise they're just as much pets as their cat or their dog. My little boy just *loves* to play with them--they're incredibly tame, and both were raised from itty bitty babies. One of them can "count"! My stepfather trained her--he says a number and makes a hand sign, and she'll peck the ground that many times in response. I don't understand how people can think of dogs and cats as pets, but not rabbits or chickens. They are capable of SO MUCH that most people never even know about. They aren't stupid or senseless at *all*.

I'm no vegan (although I feel guilt about it). I can't claim the moral high road, but I *do* know what I've seen for myself, and rabbits and chickens are no less sentient than dogs and cats.

[Blue_Roses]

17. you do awesome work

nt

[MissMillie]

26. I think it's perfectly fair to take that position on this

:hi:

[rug]

20. The Arizona statute appears to protect rodents and chickens. (Section G. 1.)

Title 13 - Criminal Code

CHAPTER 29 - OFFENSES AGAINST PUBLIC ORDER
13-2910. Cruelty to animals; interference with working or service animal; classification; definitions

A. A person commits cruelty to animals if the person does any of the following:
1. Intentionally, knowingly or recklessly subjects any animal under the person's custody or control to cruel neglect or abandonment.

2. Intentionally, knowingly or recklessly fails to provide medical attention necessary to prevent protracted suffering to any animal under the person's custody or control.

3. Intentionally, knowingly or recklessly inflicts unnecessary physical injury to any animal.

4. Recklessly subjects any animal to cruel mistreatment.

5. Intentionally, knowingly or recklessly kills any animal under the custody or control of another person without either legal privilege or consent of the owner.

6. Recklessly interferes with, kills or harms a working or service animal without either legal privilege or consent of the owner.

7. Intentionally or knowingly subjects any animal under the person's custody or control to cruel neglect or abandonment that results in serious physical injury to the animal.

8. Intentionally or knowingly subjects any animal to cruel mistreatment.

9. Intentionally or knowingly interferes with, kills or harms a working or service animal without either legal privilege or consent of the owner.

B. It is a defense to subsection A of this section if:

1. Any person exposes poison to be taken by a dog which has killed or wounded livestock or poison to be taken by predatory animals on premises owned, leased or controlled by the person for the purpose of protecting the person or the person's livestock or poultry, and the treated property is kept posted by the person who authorized or performed the treatment until the poison has been removed, and the poison is removed by the person exposing the poison after the threat to the person, or the person's livestock or poultry has ceased to exist. The posting required shall provide adequate warning to persons who enter the property by the point or points of normal entry. The warning notice which is posted shall be readable at a distance of fifty feet, shall contain a poison statement and symbol and shall state the word "danger" or "warning".

2. Any person uses poisons in and immediately around buildings owned, leased or controlled by the person for the purpose of controlling wild and domestic rodents as otherwise allowed by the laws of the state, excluding any fur-bearing animals as defined in section 17-101.

C. This section does not prohibit or restrict:

1. The taking of wildlife or other activities permitted by or pursuant to title 17.

2. Activities permitted by or pursuant to title 3.

3. Activities regulated by the Arizona game and fish department or the Arizona department of agriculture.

D. A person who is convicted of a violation of subsection A, paragraph 6 or 9 is liable as follows:

1. If the working or service animal was killed or disabled, to the owner or agency that owns the working or service animal and that employs the handler or to the owner or handler for the replacement and training costs of the working or service animal and for any veterinary bills.

2. To the owner or agency that owns a working or service animal for the salary of the handler for the period of time that the handler's services are lost to the owner or agency.

3. To the owner for the owner's contractual losses with the agency.

E. An incorporated city or town or a county may adopt an ordinance with misdemeanor provisions at least as stringent as the misdemeanor provisions of this section.

F. A person who violates subsection A, paragraph 1 through 6 is guilty of a class 1 misdemeanor. A person who violates subsection A, paragraph 7 through 9 is guilty of a class 6 felony.

G. For the purposes of this section:

1. "Animal" means a mammal, bird, reptile or amphibian.

2. "Cruel mistreatment" means to torture or otherwise inflict unnecessary serious physical injury upon an animal or to kill an animal in a manner that causes protracted suffering to the animal.

3. "Cruel neglect" means to fail to provide an animal with necessary food, water or shelter.

4. "Handler" means a law enforcement officer or any other person who has successfully completed a course of training prescribed by the person's agency or the service animal owner and who used a specially trained animal under the direction of the person's agency or the service animal owner.

5. "Service animal" means an animal that has completed a formal training program, that assists its owner in one or more daily living tasks that are associated with a productive life-style and that is trained to not pose a danger to the health and safety of the general public.

6. "Working animal" means a horse or dog that is used by a law enforcement agency, that is specially trained for law enforcement work and that is under the control of a handler.

From the article it appears he was convicted of cruelty to the snake:

"Investigators later seized the boa after finding it had been neglected. The snake was euthanized for a neurological disorder."

[Lyric]

21. *nods* That makes sense

Live-feeding is cruel to both the snake and the food animal. No argument about that.

[pitohui]

25. i agree w. your post oktoberain EOM

.

[BreweryYardRat]

15. Ohh! *restrains urge to puke*

That's just fucking inhuman.

[Blue_Roses]

18. sick, sick, sick,

I don't give a damn if the guy needed to feed his damn snake or not, that's pretty sick :puke:

[LostInAnomie]

19. The title should read...

"Man Gets Teeth Knocked Out (and Long Jail Sentence) For Feeding Puppy To Snake."

Too bad that didn't happen.

[JVS]

23. Legalize puppy-eating!

[montanto]

24. Will a snake eat a veggie burger? nt just askin'