Enough to make you sick!!

[Baby "G"]

We just finished reading this in the news paper...it's amazing that an animal rights activist would react this way.

http://www.herald.ns.ca/stories/2003/08/09/f280.raw.html

Nicky

[damzookeeper]

OMG, "Large, dangerous Reptiles" My a$$!!! Somebody needs to rescue her from her ignorance!! ANd that is my 2 cents.

That is terrible! She shouldn't be an animal activist if she doens't know anything more than cats!

[Invictus]

My hatred of humanity's ignorance grows more and more with every news article involving comments from f**king flakes like her!!!

[hip]

"He could've easily killed my cats," Ms. Surrette said, adding later: "I don't have a problem rescuing cats. I have a big problem rescuing large, dangerous reptiles."



I do think it would be the other way around seeing as most domestic cats will kill most anything they can catch.

yes sir another oxygen theif in out midsts

a sad day for all herpers

[Colonel SB]

Oh yeah freakin right a 4 foot snake eating a full grow cat! These animal activists are so ignorant. These looser's should be called Cute animal activists, if it's not cute & cuddle you can't own it. This sort of fascist crap makes me sick.

[mk-ultra]

lol thats like saying a burmese python could eat an elephant :P
... people are so damn ignorant a ball python for christ sake and it would have eaten 2 cats LOL . this is so sad animal activist my a$$ go to school or change your dangerous ball python handling job .........

[RaVeNo888o]

how come you never hear any of the stories about the stray cat that is hanging outside of the window, ready to give you rabies . snakes and reptiles are not THE problem...there are tonnes of stray cats and dogs that could easily have killed her cats..im not saying the owner of the snake isnt at fault..but everytime something like this comes up, everyone wants to ban the keeping of reptiles...how many stories in the news have been about 'large dog mauls young child'? why dont they go and ban the big bad dangerous dogs? (nothing against dogs :D)

[Rebecca]

They actually have banned at least one big dog breed (pit bull)that I know of in several places. Although I do agree it's not right to ban reptiles just because they are not the norm. But I do understand.

[RachelS.]

as I said before and I'll say it once again... people just totally piss me off.

[sara]

Yeah right, I have a hard enough time getting my b.p.'s to take rats... cat ladies *shudders*, now that's "scary".
I hope the snake is ok.

[meow_mix450]

Ya they piss me off too. Raveno888o is right you dont seeing them baning cats or large dogs. I guess people ban reptiles because they dont know them as much...people these days make snakes, reptiles etc sound dangerous, but there really not, not if u treat them right, and dont let them run away or slither lol well i think banning reptiles wrong tho.

[Sunrunner]

I honestly in my whole entire life thought there was as much ignorance as I have seen towards reptiles. It saddens me to much to tell anyone here.
or pisses me off to much either way i can not use the language here that I would like to regarding this.

[sapphire_moon]

Thats sick. I totally agree with everyone here. A 4 ft ball python taking on a fully grown stuffed full house cat. Yah, he would have won...*rolls eyes* poor snake! I would love to show that lady a "large dangerous reptile"!!!!! Freakin *Word I can't say here*!!!

[PoiSoNouS]

Had to send her an email... about all this CRAP, hope to get a response..
*Grrrrrrrrrr*

[Invictus]

What makes me even madder is that in the article, they just say it was "a python". Well, when you say that, of course people assume you mean the giant variety. There's nothing saying that it was a BP which would only grow to be 5 or 6 feet.

[Mike177]

OMG. it is sh*t like this that realy pisses me off. when i hear about a burm getting lose and eating a cat i thing man thats too bad, or when you hear about a retic living under a house you think people need to be more resposible. but when the call a bp a dangerus anamal that REALY pisses me off. i can see the bases for wanting to ban large constrictors due to problems in the past, i dont agree with it but i can see where the argument is comeing from. but this is just bull crap! i have seen pictures of cats and ball pythons curled up nexed to eachother sleeping together. good money says cats kill more people than any large constrictor in the us or canada. YES CATS KILL PEOPLE! ignorince is bliss i guess. its just so much easer to blame all snakes everywhere than one irrisposable owner (not that i know the owner is irrisponsable)

[HetForHuman]

i think i will be sending her an email as well.
this is complete BU!!*****. it made me downright angry when i read that. people need to grab a friggin brain.

[Samba]

Huh, she thinks a ball python is large and dangerous? I'd like to introduce her to Bandula, my hefty burmese python! He's nearly 16 feet long and even I don't think he could take on a cat, plus he's got a better personality!! I want to resort to name-calling but I won't stoop that low. This woman is getting a letter from me!

At least this snake wasn't reportedly maced, pepper-sprayed or manhandled. They did the proper thing by taking it to a reptile-specific rescue. We all need to be extra careful in seeing that our animals don't escape and that people who come in contact with our creatures, (willingly, of course), understand how harmless most reptiles really are. Education is the key, and being reptile owners puts us at an advantage to demonstrate the feelings we have for our pets. I know I speak for many of us when I say that I love my snakes and geckos every bit as much as my dogs and cats.

Colonel SB - I find my pets extremely cute and cuddly! What are you talking about?!?!? J/K =D

[Pia]

Another case of uninformed hysteria, sigh. I understand this lady's concern for her pets, but she is obviously uninformed when it comes to snakes and therefore, shouldn't be making such statements. As far as the cat's being upset, mine get in a knot and run inside if the neighbor's kids get loud, or if there is a stange cat, dog, racoon, etc in close proximity. If this had have been the case there, there wouldn't have been any story. The newspaper should also be more responsible in what they print. Hopefully, there will be some response to the editor correcting this misinformation. I am angry too and I think e-mails are a good idea, but let's be polite and informative, flaming will only make us look bad and after all we have this forum to vent on;-)
As for this lady, "animal" activist is the wrong term, it should be "cat" activist or "cute and cudly only" activist.

[Zoe]

I e-mailed the author as well. It's fine to publish a quote, but if the quote is FALSE and not corrected afterwards, it totally reduces the author's credibility. Maybe after all these e-mails from us she'll post a formal retraction and appology :) that'll be the day!

Zoe

[Pia]

I just sent an e-mail to the author. If I get a response, I will let everyone know.

[TheRedDragon]

Oh for CRYING OUT LOUD!!!!!!! I REALLY despise people who refuse to educate themselves on something that they do not understand rather than making stupid half-wit comments like that. That article was so incredibly ignorant. :mad:

[Andy_G]

I also sent an email to the extremely ignorant individual who wrote this column and I feel I made many good points, but her skull is probably thick enough to garbage it before she reads it.

[Mike177]

Education is the key
i dont think you could be any more right. BUT! (dont you hate those buts) what about cities that have already banned snakes. i know my citiy has banned anything out of the familily boid. i accualy was going to see if i could talk to my old princible from my old elementry school to see if i could give a presentation on snakes. i would LOVE to do it, it would be fun not only for me but for the childrin and it would give the teachers a little break from there high stress job. but sence my snakes are illegal i dont want to rist looseing them. it is hard to educate when the tools are illegal.

[NewLineReptile]

Wow a 4' ball python that can eat 2 cat's i wish a super BP like that was outside my window

Brandon

[RaVeNo888o]

if only they new what was really going on.. a 4 foot bp in the 'city'. any money, that snake was scared shitless of those cats, and everything else, assuming it was a cb. ya the cats did freak but not because the snake provoked them, he prolly just slithered by.
what type of stuff did you guys say in your emails? im curious to know? stuff about how the cat would have killed the snake, not the other way around?

[crimsonking]

In the US we have to watch for "strategically" placed stories like this one. I mean, it is not past groups like HSUS to get stories like this as much print and air time as possible to further their agenda of a total ban of herps and exotics. Maybe not in this case, but nevertheless the damage is done. Another reason too, we must educate KEEPERS to have the most secure enclosures possible. A big story locally about a "dangerous" boa on the loose in my neighborhood (no, not mine!) got air time on at least 3 tv stations recently. The owners kept it in a cage on their front porch--in plain view of the neighborhood kids. My idea is that someone let it out as a "joke". Still, very bad for our hobby.
We can't keep giving the opposition more and more fuel for their campaign.
:Mark

[Baby "G"]

They also did a poll on the front page of that newspaper asking
Should it be legal to keep exotic snakes as pets?
Out of 579 votes 28% said yes where 72% said no. I guess it's easy to say that there's a lot of people from at least the halifax area that don't like exotic animals or they're just ignorant to them like this lady.

Though on a good note, we heard yesterday that the herpetelogical society is working on getting the bylaws changed.

Thanks everyone for your comments and for writing the letters, hopefully if not now, but some day it'll make a change.

Nicky

[peregrinefalcon]

What is really amazing is this was on the front page! Talk about being a slow day. The article I read was slightly different from that one. I sent an e-mail to the author right after reading it, here it is if you guys are interested:
Hello,
My name is Adam Webster, I am 16 years old and I live in Hammonds Plains. I just finished reading your story "Metro python no joke to cat owner and pets". I am a reptile keeper myself and I believe that Jennifer Surrette is very misinformed about the aggressiveness and feeding habits of ball pythons (Python regius). If you could pass this on to her then it would be appreciated. A python that is 4 feet in length would be eating large mice or small rats in captivity, there is no possible way that it could have eaten (or would have tried to eat) those cats, it would have to have been more then double that length to do that. It would have been even less interested in food because of the low temperatures outside at night, they need temperatures of 85 to 90 degrees to fully function properly, and that is probably why it was moving so slow when it was found. The cats would have had a better chance of killing the snake then vice versa. I think your idea of banning the snakes is not a very well thought out decision. Think about this, if I had one of my small snakes out crawling on the lawn for some excercise and an escaped cat just walked by and maybe looked at the snake and the snake fled away in fear, I wouldn't try to ban cats at all. Yet when a snake slithered past your cats and they fled in fear (the snake was probably scared for its life as well) you called the police, animal control, the newspaper, and tried to get them banned in the city. People should be able to keep snakes as pets if they choose, just as you deserve to keep your cats. I do agree that it is very wrong that that snake got loose, but accidents do happen. I'm sure many cats get loose and wander around your neighborhood as well. I know that you may think that all snakes are vicious and would bite anything that came near then, well that is simply not true of all species. Ball pythons are one of the calmest snakes kept as pets, and that is why they are so common in captivity.
Please consider what I've said as I love my snakes just as much as your love your cats.
Adam Webster

[reverendsterlin]

I think a suggestion to the city council to begin imposing the same fines and jail time on owners of unrestrained dogs and cats with lagre fines for any caught killing domestic animals(where I am town dogs will pack at night and attack sheep/goats, yes we shoot them) or wildlife. Be sure to send a copy to the lady of the story because it seems her cats were 'unrestrained' as well(probably trying to steal the diseased rat the python was saving the woman from lol). Sometimes throwing the ridiculus into the works enlightens the foolish.

[Mr.Lizard]

Snakes are the Devil.

[Mr.Lizard]

Just kidding,the woman is an overreactive nut like so many others. We've had large dogs roaming the streets as well as cats.
Either can injure a person,not to mention carry rabies and other communicable diseases..
But since they are warm and fuzzy they're going to get a break.
I have never heard of anyone being fined or jailed because their cat or dog got out. And there is no way a ban would be enacted on them....exception being a few dog breeds which have earned the dubious distinction of being killers.
Some years ago a neighbor of mine had her grand-daughter staying with her and while showing my water monitor to her the lizard took a quick nip at the child.
Yes it was irresponsible on my part,but the lizard was tame(with me)and I didn't see the harm in her touching the lizard as I held it in my grasp.
Well the old lady went nuts and started freaking out even though I assured her it was not a serious bite and no harm would come from it.
Luckily she didn't call the police or animal control,but she did call poison control because she thought the animal was venomous!
Would I be handling a venomous reptile without any gear,nuch less letting a child pet it ?!?
I'm sure she would think it a bit nutty if her pet basset hound bit me and I started freaking out about how I needed to get a rabies shot.
As long as cute and fuzzy gets "Awwws" and cool and scaly gets "Eeeks" that's the way it's gonna be.

[Scott Wahlberg]

Plain and simple her ignorance is more dangerous than any python. Education is the key......Scott Wahlberg

[TheRedDragon]

Very well put Mr. Lizard!

[Baby "G"]

Not to mention that cats and dogs get into the garbage, use the washroom in your front yard, carry around fleas, and bark all the time!!!
Don't get me wrong I love cats and dogs, probably just as much as reptiles, but most reptiles are harmless.
And how often do you see a snake loose anyways, I'm pretty sure nobody purposely lets them get out.....I could probably count at least 3 loose cats a day.
I think that if somebody wants to own a reptile then it's their choice, but if it gets out...it's their resposibility. I don't think banning is necessary.

Just my point of view anyways...

Nicky

[spyderman]

2 words for her: STUPID & COW!!!

[RaVeNo888o]

ya, if snakes were seen on the loose more often, i would have alot more pets :D

[Linds]

Where does it say she's an animal rights activist? I re-read it a fwe times and didn't see it. She's definitely not an animal rights activist,she's jsut a cat/dog fan. Activists don't choose animals, they want well for all.

Originally posted by Baby "G"

And how often do you see a snake loose anyways, I'm pretty sure nobody purposely lets them get out....

Sadly enough this isn't the truth. Often the exotic reptiles that are loose have been set free by their owners, for reasons such as money, or size... or whatever else :( Its irresponsible people like that that help kick bylaws in to gear :mad:

[IVvDEMONvVI]

Some ppl just shouldn't own exotics! That woman is nothing but a stupid bit*h and it proves how uneducated that she is about reptiles. Ppl like that are a waste of life and bump on the time line of life.

["Red-eye"_Matt]

I have quoated the part of the story that says she is an animal rights activist as follows.

"It sort of slithered away and went on its business," the animal-rights activist said later. "It wasn't really interested in us but it stayed around the house."

Matt

[Lisa]

Has anyone written the paper yet? It's one thing to spout off here, but how about getting into mainstream print.


you can send stuff to webmaster@herald.ns.ca

[Pia]

A few of us have e-mailed the paper. I haven't got a response yet, but I'll let you know if I do.

[Lisa]

Originally posted by Mr.Lizard
I have never heard of anyone being fined or jailed because their cat or dog got out. And there is no way a ban would be enacted on them....exception being a few dog breeds which have earned the dubious distinction of being killers.


Actually if your dogs roam free and animal control pics them up you do have to pay a fine to get them back, happened to my old boss, twice (this was in vancouver). If your dog is caught with out a license you are fined as well. Some cities are enacting bylaws against free roaming/unlicensed cats as well.

[Baby "G"]

Yeah that's true around here too Lisa. (For dogs at least) I was looking at the halifax and dartmouth bylaws online and as of right now there's nothing about cats, but I know you can even get a fine or your dog taken away if he/she barks to much. (it doesn't have to be late at night either) it happend to my mom a while ago.

Nicky

[HerpHannah]

yeh but 4 sum strange twisted reason, pple fear more of snakes than they do of cats and dogs dont they??? its tru but the old woman woz just over-reactin
Keepin It Real
HHannah