Germany: Dozens of venomous snakes found on farm
German police have seized dozens of venomous snakes from a farm. The owner kept the animals illegally and without a permit.
Police in Germany say they discovered more than 110 dangerous snakes after a woman living at the property sought medical attention following a venomous bite.
The woman drove to a hospital in Salzgitter, near Hanover, early on Sunday and told doctors that one of her rattlesnakes had bitten her finger.
As the woman's condition deteriorated and authorities urgently ordered an antiserum from a specialist institute in Hamburg, police visited the farm in Sehlde, where they found dozens of snakes.
The bite is likely to have far-reaching consequences for the 35-year-old. Police say they confiscated 115 constrictor and venomous snakes that had not been kept in a species-appropriate manner — including specimens ranked among the most venomous in the world, such as the black mamba, the green mamba, and the coastal taipan. The 35-year-old should «be grateful she wasn't bitten by a different snake«, said a police spokesperson. For the Cape cobra, which is also reported to be among the seized animals, there is no antidote. The woman kept her exotic pets without a permit, as a spokesperson for the district told NDR in Lower Saxony. Furthermore, the keeping of these animals had been completely unknown to the veterinary authority.
The incident is yet another reminder that exotic animals have no place in private households and often pose a serious danger. Even though these demanding and sometimes dangerous animals can never be kept in a species-appropriate manner in private hands, a considerable number of them are freely available for sale at animal fairs and online. To protect both people and animals, Germany must finally ban the keeping and sale of exotic animals.
Jana Hoger, Policy Advisor for Animal Companions at PETA
A police statement said that specialists had determined that the snake collection was not housed in suitable terrariums.
The reptiles were all confiscated and examined by herpetologists.
The result of a study, presented by the Federal Ministry for the Environment (BMU) in 2020, further confirms that the trade in exotic wild animals contributes to the worldwide extinction of species and that urgent action must be taken, particularly for reasons of species and nature conservation.
