Posted on 08/26/2007 7:15:48 AM PDT by LibWhacker
CINCINNATI, Aug. 24 A 10-year-old boy who said he hated snakes killed a 10-foot python at petting zoo by stomping on the reptile's head.
Scott Braunstein, a reptile handler who brought the snake to the St. Bernadette Festival in Amelia, Ohio, last weekend, said he was shocked by the boy's violence, The Cincinnati Enquirer said Thursday.
The snake, named Popcorn, was a non-poisonous albino Burmese python.
Braunstein, who operates House of Reptiles in Dry Ridge, Ky., said the boy approached him and told him that he hated snakes. The child then raised his leg and stomped down on the snake's head, Braunstein said.
A man believed to be the boy's father grabbed the child and said, "This is why I don't take you anywhere," before disappearing into the crowd, the newspaper said.
"I have never, never had anything like that happen," Braunstein told the newspaper.
This is what you get when governments ban spanking
Normal children don't kill the animal/reptile exhibits at zoos of any kind..........Sheesh!
Sounds to me like you wouldn't cast judgment on this kid if he visited the butterfly house with a flyswatter..........
Fair enough. However, this was a (10?) year old boy. It’s an isolated incident, most likely. It’s not something that happens everyday. If this were a “trend,” then, yes, I would agree most whole-heartedly with your sentiments.
You are stupied and cannot not read.
You applauded this statement: “This was neither a fear response nor was it, because of being at a public zoo, a place where ordinary bored boy viciousness would be done.”
But, as the article actually says, the incident happened at a Catholic fair, not a zoo. Have you ever been to a fair like that? There are rides, games, a few displays, music, food — it’s not a zoo. And sometimes there are carny types with tattoos and weird animals on the periphery — was that the case here? I don’t know, but my suspicion radar is blinking.
You wrote: “The snake was part of a private collection brought to the zoo for a special show.”
Now go back and read the article carefully. You make about 2 false assumptions and a blatantly incorrect factual read, which is a pretty powerful degree of error to achieve in a single sentence.
A Catholic fair! Well, that explains it. The Catholic Church teaches that Satan took the form of a serpent when he tempted Adam and Eve.
There you have it! Snakes are the cause of all the troubles in the world.
The kid must have been Catholic...his father, too...
That statement is directly from a peta, so called, fact sheet. As far as I know it has no real bases in fact. Perhaps you could give us a factual link.
Well, it was a Catholic fair, that’s that facts, as you can see from the link I provided — and I went to many as a kid, as every parish had one, including mine. Are you familiar with them? They’re not “petting zoos”, and that was my point.
Snakes are our friends... In the wild, the little ones eat all sorts of bugs, and the larger ones eat rodents. Of course, I prefer that they stay "in the wild," and I also avoid the venomous ones. I've never really understood why one would want a snake as a pet (my brother and several friends have them), but I do find snakes to be fascinating creatures.
Mark
I have eaten them, but that was long long ago and in a country far far away.
Mike Vick as a younger man?
The child is an idiot as well as his guardians. It was a petting zoo. If you can’t grasp the difference between your back-yard and a public zoo at 10 you have a serious problem.
I read the article you posted, and though I agree it provides a bit more context, you’ve got to admit it also reads like “special pleading” disguised as reporting. It’s all opinion, wrapped around a few facts.
Here’s what stuck out to me, ignoring the special pleading: the guy with the snakes is a Mr. Braunstein “who operates House of Reptiles in Dry Ridge, Ky.”.
House of Reptiles? Sounds like a weekend horror house on Holloween to me, but then again, I’m positively spooked by snakes.
In any event, when you strip away the fluff, there was a field, and a snake in the grass, and a kid who was afraid of it. Maybe the kid is just plain mean, or maybe he was afraid. He’s not around to say, but Mr. Braunstein has certainly talked to everybody and gotten his 15 minutes of fame and free advertising.
“This is why I don’t take you amywhere!”
If I had a nickel for every time I heard my Mom say this about Dad or us kids I’d be a Millionaire by now, LOL!
I have NEVER seen a snake in a Petting Zoo. Is this some sort of cultural thang that we don’t have here in the Upper Midwest?
What’s the “pet” aspect of this story?
Just kidding. I know some people LOVE their Reptiles. I just don’t get it, myself. I want other warm-blooded Mammals around me; dogs, cats, a milk cow, a goat, etc., not some freaky “pet” from another genus altogether!
*SHRUG*
Close, I thought it was dripping with bias, I was about ready to run out and buy a box of tissue. LOL
But then, I thought he probably carried the snake back to Kentucky, skinned it out and ate it. I wonder if he really is in the business of renting out snakes to those snake handling churches in Kentucky? :)
No, they are not, if they are RAISED properly!
If this little psycho had killed a puppy, would you be singing the same song?
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