I’m sorry to have to bring this here, guys…
But this is extremely important.
Now i know that none of us are going to be typically surprised, but moreso I am heartbroken for the owner and i want to know if anyone knows this guy, if he’s going after them since he has the footage, if there’s any way we as a community can come together and stand by his side. Florida Fish and Wildlife has gone too far and the proof is undeniable. Is USARK involved at all in this particular incident? Does USARK stand up for individual keepers facing the FWC or just find laws to oppose?
If he is going after them i wanna help. And i want to find a way. This feels like it’s the hill to die on.
Also, it’s extremely disturbing, please watch at your own discretion. Multiple gorgeous, healthy, obviously loved and responsibly kept snakes were killed in this video. I couldn’t keep composed.
Honestly, what sickens me is seeing them aggressively ripping and manhandling and restraining these animals out of their homes and onto the floors and then hearing that one prick comment " AnD tHeSE aRe sUpPoSEd To bE tHe taME oNes. "
There’s just so many words to say that it just isn’t worth it to try.
Yet again steel yourselves. And please, if anyone knows this man or if there’s any way to support him, let me know. I’ll bet he really needs us right now.
This video made me furious. Im sorry but you’d be reading about me on the news if that were my animals. We are sending a few letters to the governor to do something about this. These imbeciles need to be stocking shelves, not having a position of power.
“No words” does say it. This is all but unbelievable. I sincerely hope these men lose their jobs and face criminal penalties. I don’t say that often or lightly. “We’re gonna fix it.” Who says that?
I tried to watch this video but i couldn’t get through it. It makes me so angry and as someone who’s hoping to breed boas in the future, that part especially made my blood boil. I also just couldn’t watch those snakes getting killed, especially in the way they were. I hope he sues those people and gets a hefty amount of money off them. Of course nothing could replace his snakes, but it would be nice to at least get something from the people who took his pet’s lives. I definitely don’t suggest watching this video if you are sensitive to animals getting killed because it’s just awful.
I don’t have the stomach to watch the video. What happened? Why were they in his home and removing the animals? This is so heartbreaking, I just don’t even know what to say.
They came in, killed the pythons, but also killed a boa that wasn’t even illegal, and had babies. There was a label, and they definitely noticed, but didn’t do anything about it.
I believe that FLARK would have priority over USARK on this matter, but that is just my speculation. I am also going to guess that there is some action being taken but, as it likely would be a legal matter, it is not going to be discussed publicly
This situation definitely underlines why it is important to become a member of USARK, even at the lowest tier, because cases like this have a greater impact when you have numbers on your side (e.g., there is a larger impact when a judge hears “the 25,000 members of USARK…” versus “the 2,500 members of USARK…”)
I know there are calls to have keepers write to governor DeSantis (I do not know if they are legitimate or supported in any way). IF you are planning on doing this I cannot emphasize how important it is to behave civilly and professionally in your correspondence. If you are hyperbolic or swearing or insulting they you are just going to make the situation worse. I understand that it is a disgusting and egregious abuse of power, but you have to maintain a professional attitude or you will be dismissed and potentially further hurt how our hobby looks in the eyes of the non-reptile public
Ugh, I saw that video last night, and I almost wish I hadn’t. I’m never going to get those images out of my head, or the sound that nail gun made. Or the anguished cries of the owner when those thugs told him what they did. Makes me sick just thinking about it.
Nothing about that situation was okay. Especially the fact that they merrily murdered a LEGAL snake that the owner told them MULTIPLE TIMES was a boa, was legal, and not to touch her. But they killed her anyway. And then had the nerve to say (without so much as apologizing, mind you) that the state would “make it right,” as if anything short of miraculously bringing the animals back to life could ever “make it right.”
I’m not generally an angry person, but stuff like this fills me with absolute primal rage. So much so that I should probably stop talking about it, before I say something that will get me in trouble. Needless to say, if those had been my snakes, I’d be sitting in jail right now. I’ll leave it to your imagination as to what my charges would be.
“Is there any way to save the babies?” dude asks HOW long after realizing they killed mama snake? Are you KIDDING ME? Do these people not even understand that boas are live birthers?
What a dumb question. They can’t tell a retic from a boa. They couldn’t define viviparous with a dictionary and a month on YouTube.
I tell people all the time: YOU may not understand it, but we love these scaley weirdos just like you love your pets. Then I show them videos of my BTS stomping through my daughter’s dollhouse with a miniature sofa in his mouth, or my corn snake leaning as far as he can in his enclosure so he can pose in the mirror of my vanity. The ones with empathy at least start to get it.
I don’t understand how this could even happen. I was under the impression that if an animal is seized because it was illegally owned that it would be humanely euthanized by a vet. How was this even remotely allowed to be done? This makes me physically sick, I can not even imagine the pain the owner is going through. Is there anything we, as a community, can do? I am already becoming a supporter of USARK, it just doesn’t feel like enough.
If they were going to do that they should have taken them away first. To do it in the mans own place is so mean. It seems as though he should have been able to keep the animals because he was grandfathered in but they apparently didn’t care. This makes me so sick and angry I just cant believe that they are allowed to do this.
I’ve seen this over the weekend and its heartbreaking. It’s hard not to think about it throughout the day. We are huge supporters of USARK and hope justice will be served here!
It looks like USARK Florida has released a video on the incident now being called the ‘Holy Thursday Massacre.’ i would watch the video on YouTube, as it has more footage on the incident and some more context. And of course they have links in the description to reach out to the Florida governor. I haven’t reached out to the governor yet myself, but knowing USARK, they probably have an outline prepared. You know what to do folks.
