UK Cat Eaten by Stray Pet Python
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Bristol, United Kingdom (Aug 13th, 2009)
A couple from the United Kingdom have started a campaign to ban some species of snake, after their pet cat was eaten by their neighbor's 13 foot-long Python.
On the evening of June 25th, Martin and Helen Wadey's orange and white cat Wilbur was attacked, asphyxiated and consumed whole by their neighbor's unattended and unsecured Burmese Python, at their home outside Bristol in England.
"Even though a snake of this size could kill a grown adult, let alone a small child, they are not considered a threat to the general public by the Government. Pythons (and Boa Constrictors) do not have to be licensed, nor does the law regulate how they must be kept," said Martin Wadey.
The Wadeys have started a campaign and online petition to urge the UK government to amend the Dangerous Wild Animals Act 1976 to include Pythons, Boa Constrictors and any non venomous but lethal snake.
"We didn’t choose this campaign, it chose us. The killing of Wilbur was the catalyst and we are merely backing up something that the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) themselves have asked for," Martin Wadey said in a statement on their campaign website.
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I feel for the owners of Wilbur, and for Wilbur himself, but I do not agree with them wanting to add Boas and Pythons to the Dangerous Wild Animals Act 1976.
My brother in law has 5 boa constrictors and they have never shown any aggression or posed a threat to me, him, my sister or my 9 year old nephew.
I think it all depends on the owners - how the animals are treated, how they are housed etc.
I also know somebody with a python, and again it doesn't pose a threat.
It comes down to common sense - i don't agree that these snakes should be put on the Dangerous Wild Animals Act 1976, but i do think the owners of the python should have thought twice before leaving the snake unattended.
I'm so sorry for the loss of this beautiful cat Wilbur. He is se sweet. No one in their right mind would have any wild animal as a pet, for the sake of the aniaml and for domesticated animals and people.
I'm a wolf lover, but would NEVER try to have one as a pet. I protect and respect them, and want them to be free as God intended for this species.
I hope the UK will enact a law to protect society.
How tragic. I love all animals including snakes, but if people are going to have these large snakes, just like any other dangerous animal, please for Pete's sake act with responsibility. Keep the snake in your house, in its cage when you are not holding it, and most of all, KEEP IT AWAY FROM OTHER PEOPLE'S ANIMALS. If you can't be a responsible pet owner, don't have pets.
Omg how awful. I wish these people luck in their fight. Losing a family pet is bad enough, but what if it had been a child!! Pythons are dangerous animals and must be monitored. I am not a fan of them being kept as pets in a cage, to let it roam free is insane, dangerous and downright irresponsible.
I agree with Rick, the previous poster. If you want a snake, move to snake country. Those critters -and I mean any exotic- should never be taken out of their environment to begin with. I used to volunteer at an animal shelter on the East Coast and I still remember this incredible aggressive small cayman somebody dumped at the shelter because they couldn't handle anymore. Exotics belong in their native lands, not in a cage or terrarium, living a miserable life!!!
Good grief need better laws to protect all when a hungry snake is loose. All animals have to eat but need to be protected as well as those that are not/
Ruby Lindsey
all snakes should stay in the home country
it you want a pet Boa move to the Boa home country.
The state of Florida has a big problem with big snakes, it is out of control.
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I love my 9 cats with all my heart, and it may be 'natural' for cats to explore & hunt outdoors, but if people don't want harm to come to them, DO NOT let them outdoors unattended!! My yard is fenced, & the cats love their daily playtime outdoors, but we're always watching them, and herd them in when playtime's over. Wilbur was allowed to go outside and stray onto someone else's property, where they also should not have left an unattended pet, snake or otherwise. It just as easily could have been a vicious dog to attack poor Wilbur, or he could have consumed something poisonous, been hit by a vehicle, or the like. He did not deserve to die in such a horrible manner, but I hold the humans to blame for his death!