Over a dozen snakes killed after a venomous one bit their owner at his SC home, cops say
A man who owned more than a dozen snakes remains in serious condition days after one of the venomous reptiles bit him at his South Carolina home, according to the Florence Police Department.
As he recovers, the 14 snakes that were seized from his home were killed, police said Tuesday morning in a news release.
Police said they tried to avoid euthanizing the venomous snakes.
But none of the multiple facilities that police said they contacted to hold and care for the reptiles would accept them because of potential health issues that the snakes could introduce to the sterile environments because of their unknown health conditions. There also was concern that the snakes could harm the animals currently living at places like Riverbanks Zoo in Columbia, Alligator Adventure in Myrtle Beach, Reptile Lagoon at the South of the Border complex in Dillon County and Edisto Island Serpentarium, according to the release.
After speaking with the facility experts and South Carolina Department of Natural Resources officials, police said they determined that the current habitats for these snakes “were unsuitable and unsafe ... (and) were especially dangerous for private ownership.”
The police “attempted to have these animals collected by numerous professional facilities so that they WOULD NOT be euthanized, but instead could be studied or displayed in a professional environment,” police said in the release. “Since these facilities would not do that, our only course of action was to have them euthanized.”
The euthanized snakes included two Gaboon vipers, two Black Forest cobras, two adult rattlesnakes, two neotropical rattlesnakes, as well as a single green mamba, Fer-de-Lance, death adder, Eastern diamondback rattlesnake, an unknown small rattlesnake as well as an Inland taipan, according to the release.
Animal control also collected two domestic cats from the home which were taken to a local shelter for care, police said.
The animal seizure followed a Sept. 6 incident where the man reported being bitten by a snake and asked for medical attention, according to the release. At about 2 a.m., emergency responders went to a home in the 800 block of Marion Street, and took the man to an area hospital, police said.
The man did not immediately admit that the bite was from a venomous snake, according to the release.
Later that morning, officers learned that the victim privately owned a collection of venomous snakes and was bitten by one of them, police said.
It was determined that the snakes were being kept at the home, so a search was conducted to determine if there was a threat to the public’s safety, according to the release.
This information was gathered from the victim and from posts on his public Facebook page, police said.
Prior to the search, police said they contacted South Carolina DNR seeking guidance about handling any wild or venomous animals. Police also wanted to know how the snakes should be stored and properly cared for, as well as an assessment of the danger involved with the specific types of snakes that could be in the home, according to the release.
That’s when the 14 snakes were discovered, police said.
Because of the serious nature of the injury and the victim’s condition, a family member of his was contacted regarding the animals, and that relative took possession of the animals before signing a voluntary surrender form, giving possession of them to police with the understanding that animals would be humanly euthanized, according to the release.
No other injuries were reported and police said they do not believe any threat to public safety exists.
Further information on the victim’s condition was not available.
Early Tuesday morning, he posted “#notdeadyet,” on his Facebook page.
He has taken some criticism for the incident.
“This wasn’t your run of the mill snake bite. This was a product of the irresponsible handling of literally the world’s deadliest venomous snake,” said KP Exotics, a pair of exotic pet experts based out of Arkansas, on Facebook.
Katherine Hamilton, who said she’s a venomous snake handler and breeder, reached out to The State and was also critical of the victim. She said the Florence incident is “the only thing being discussed in the global snake handler community,” and that many of its members “are saying he had this coming,” because he “insists on free handling deadly snakes.”
Hamilton also questioned how the snakes were stored and cared for, and if “they were all obtained legally.”
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This story was originally published September 10, 2024 at 3:17 PM with the headline "Over a dozen snakes killed after a venomous one bit their owner at his SC home, cops say."
