Corn snake doesn't want his dinner!

[dannybgoode]

Kind

Originally Posted by Doug 351

Yeah, live feeding is illegal in the UK....But they have kippers for breakfast.....hmmmm....fish breath in the morning???

So glad we won!!!

Live feeding is not illegal in the UK. It's a common misinterpretation of the law. Live feeding for entertainment is illegal so you can't film it and stick it on YouTube for example but you have a legal duty of care to prevent unnecessary suffering to an animal in your possession.

So if a snake is starving and live feeding is the only option then this is ok so long as the prey is properly cared for before being offered and it's removed if it looks like the snake is going to unduly suffer as a result of bites and scratches from the prey animal.

Similarly if the prey isn't taken reasonably quickly then it would be expected to remove it until such time as to give it another go. This is the reason for no filming as feeding for entertainment could be construed as causing unnecessary harm to the prey animal.

It isn't done very often and only ever as a last resort and it's not something that's discussed much - just done when necessary and move on. But illegal? No...