Posted on 07/01/2009 3:24:58 PM PDT by traumer
A 12-foot pet Burmese python has broken out of its aquarium and strangled to death a two-year-old girl in her Florida bedroom.
Police said Shaunia Hare was already dead when paramedics arrived at her home in Oxford, 50 miles northwest of Orlando.
The albino snake had been owned by Charles Darnell, the boyfriend of Shaunia’s mother, who found it in the toddler's bedroom, wrapped around her. Mr Darnell, 32, stabbed the snake until he was able to pry her away, but was too late to save her.
Mr Darnell did not have a permit for the snake, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said tonight, although he has not yet been charged with any offence.
Authorities were pictured removing the snake tonight, while Mr Darnell could be seen standing outside his home hugging his girlfriend Jaren Hare. The snake was said to be wounded but still alive.
Burmese pythons can reach a length of 26 feet and weigh more than 200 pounds. Some owners have freed them into the wild and a population has taken hold in the Everglades. Scientists also believe that several Burmese pythons escaped in 1992 from pet shops battered by Hurricane Andrew and have been reproducing since.
“It’s becoming more and more of a problem, perhaps no fault of the animal, more a fault of the human,” said Jorge Pino, a sta
(Excerpt) Read more at timesonline.co.uk ...
A 12-foot pet python?
What can go wrong?
Prayers for Shaunia. Why do people keep such dangerous wild animals? It should’ve been the owner.
Anyone who has a potentially dangerous animal with a small child in the home is a selfish moron! When are people gonna stop putting their own stupid desires in front of the well being of children?
The everglades is infested with them also
Oh man, that poor little girl...
jeez, such a horrible death. prayers for the family.
Horrible all around.
I will never understand why women put ridiculous boyfriends in their homes while periling their children.
poor kid,fecking idiots
These python owners are really idiots.
I always that that such a snake, if well-fed, wouldn’t go hunting for food. Wonder when he/she was last fed. Idiots. Poor baby. Just think of how terrified she must have been.
The mother looks pregnant.
Beyond words.
If I hazard a guess I would say that those 2 pigs are grieving for the loss of their snake.
White trash....
Yep, that’s what I thought after seeing the picture. Another child to sacrifice to utter incompetence and stupidity.
/s
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