- Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officers euthanized 35 snakes, mistakenly killing a pregnant boa constrictor worth $100,000.
- The action drew criticism from a reptile advocacy group, the American Reptile Keepers Association, which called the action “abhorrent.”
- Graphic video shows some snakes, including the boa, writhing after being shot with a bolt gun.
After Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) officers euthanized 35 snakes last week, a disturbing video of their action sparked criticism of government officials from a reptile and wildlife advocacy group. snake owners.
FWC officers are authorized to euthanize wild reticulated and Burmese pythonsa species banned in Florida in 2021 due to its invasive nature. But when they raided a reptile facility in Sunrise, Fla., on April 6, they mistakenly killed a pregnant boa constrictor it was worth $100,000, along with 34 captive pythons. This error, as well as the method used to kill the reptiles, drew criticism from a reptile advocacy group, the American Reptile Keepers Association (USARK).
![“Heinous” killing of snakes in Florida](https://d.newsweek.com/en/full/2221422/heinous-killing-snakes-florida.jpg?w=1200&f=2fd439980bb4e6b7e470a8dc90529c62)
Chandan Khanna/AFP/Getty
The Florida branch of USARK has been embroiled in a lawsuit with the FWC for the past year and a half, challenging the commission’s authority to euthanize captive animals. The recent snake deaths have put the FWC back in the spotlight, with USARK Florida Media Director Daniel Parker calling the action “abhorrent.”
“It’s horribly sad,” Parker said News week. “The Florida state constitution gives the FWC authority over the lives of wild animals, and we don’t believe they should have the power to do this to someone’s pets.”
An FWC spokesperson said News week that Bill McAdam, the owner of the Sunrise facility, surrendered the snakes to this FWC and directed FWC agents to euthanize the pythons. But Parker said that couldn’t be true because McAdam wasn’t at the scene.
“The information also indicates that the owner specifically requested that FWC officers and investigators conduct these euthanasia activities on-site at his facility,” the FWC spokesperson said.
“The FWC Law Enforcement Division is determining the full details of this incident, and more information will be released when it is verified and appropriate. Gathering the necessary information and records to provide the public “A clear picture of the facts of this incident may take time, but the FWC is committed to providing factual information as soon as it becomes available,” the spokesperson said.
A 2021 change in Florida law
Officers euthanized the pythons at the Sunrise facility after fighting legally with snake breeder Chris Coffee, who legally owned more than 120 pythons before a 2021 Florida law made ownership illegal. Before the law was passed, Coffee had obtained a special permit to keep and sell the snakes.
After the law passed, the FWC gave Coffee five months to find the pythons a new home. At the end of that period, Coffee still had more than 30, and officers gave him an ultimatum: Either allow them to euthanize the snakes or he would go to jail. Coffee gave officers permission to euthanize the pythons, but he warned them not to kill a pregnant boa constrictor kept in the same area, which is legal in Florida. The boa belonged to McAdam.
Images from the video
The officers then began euthanizing the pythons, which was filmed by Coffee on his phone after he left the room. Several minutes into the video, posted to YouTube by USARK Florida, officers removed the pregnant boa from its cage and killed it as well. The snake writhed in the background as the officers looked at each other, one with their hands on their heads, visibly shocked, when they realized they had the wrong snake.
Warning: This video contains graphic images and language.
Coffee is off-screen during the video, but can be heard reacting to the devastating news when officers tell him they killed the boa constrictor, which McAdam had owned for 11 years and named Big Shirl.
“No!” Coffee shouted. “What’s wrong with you guys? Who did this?”
An officer then asks Coffee if there is a way to save the 32 babies from the snake, which THE Miami Herald reported were only a month from birth. Coffee said the babies couldn’t be saved.
The officers told Coffee that they had made a mistake in killing the boa, to which Coffee responded in disbelief. “How?” He shouted. “I reminded you 10 times! You just killed something that wasn’t illegal, and it had like $100,000 worth of f****** babies in it!”
Coffee told Miami television station WTVJ that he still can’t watch the video of the snake deaths.
The FWC’s website says it uses a device that fires a bolt of lightning into the snake’s brain, thereby “humanely” killing the reptile. The website asks agents to follow a two-step process. The first stage renders the reptile unconscious, while the second destroys its brain.
But according to Coffee, the entire process was inhumane. At the start of the video, the officer who administered the lock admits that he has only handled one python in the past. Another officer asks him if he needs to “practice” the fatal maneuver, to which a third officer responds, “He doesn’t need to practice.”
“I’m not a veterinarian, but I don’t know how anyone watching this video would call this humane,” Parker said. News week. “For those who keep snakes as pets, we love these animals just like people love their dogs and cats. Replace your puppy or kitten with a bolt gun by government agents, and you’ll feel like we we have right now.”
Besides the boa, the video shows other snakes writhing after being shot. FWC officers held up one of the dead reptiles and posed for a photo before disposing of the carcass in a large trash can.
“I can’t watch it. These animals mean a lot to me,” Coffee told WTVJ. “It’s like watching someone kill my children.”
Updated 4/12/23, 2:33 p.m. ET: This story has been updated with a comment from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
Correction, 04/12/23, 3:59 p.m. ET: This story has been updated to change the form of euthanasia from electroshock to bolt pistol.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.