Drunken yobs force a python to drink a bottle of Carling Black Label lager: Police hunt gang whose stunt is likely to have killed the snake
- Three men in South Africa sought to force-feed pilsner to the protected python
- Experts suggest that the lager likely burned the python’s internal tissues
In South Africa, Yobs are being hunted for animal cruelty after forcing Carling Black Label lager down the throat of a terrified python.
The gang had grabbed the protected 6ft reptile as they partied in the bush and forced open its jaws to pour beer down its throat.
Snake experts say there is no way the reptile’s organs can handle alcohol and it would have burned its internal tissues and caused serious damage or death.
The 14-second clip shows two men holding the snake upright and a third man emptying an entire 750ml bottle of Canadian lager down the snake’s throat.
The crowd barks and laughs and one of the tormentors appears ready to pour a second bottle down the python’s esophagus as it is held helplessly in the air.
These drunken losers are being hunted for animal cruelty in South Africa after forcing Carling Black Label lager down the throat of a terrified python
British snake expert Michael Grover said on his reptile website that even a small amount of alcohol can be fatal and cause “disorientation and loss of coordination.”
He said: ‘If a snake drinks alcohol it can be fatal as it is highly toxic to it and can cause serious damage to its liver and other organs, leading to organ failure and death.’
The angry National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (NSPCA) has uploaded the sickening video to its SA website and is appealing for information.
A spokesperson said: ‘This is an endangered or protected species of African rock python that is being effectively tortured and we will bring the full force of the law into play.
‘The snake is being force-fed with beer and it is clearly cruelty and it causes enormous suffering to the python and it could very well have caused a painful death.
The drinkers grabbed the protected 6-foot-long reptile as they partied in the bushes, ripped open its jaws and poured a liter of beer into the stricken creature.
‘A full investigation is underway and any substantial information will be of great help as it is difficult to trace perpetrators from an anonymous video posted online.
“The public outcry on social media is full proof of the fact that animal cruelty in South Africa is not only not accepted, but will not be tolerated,” he said.
Anyone with any information can call the NSPCA Special Projects Unit on +27 11 907 3590 or email specialprojects@nscpa.co.za and their identity will be fully protected.
Que Pasa wrote under the video on the NSPCA website: ‘How incredibly despicable. May these people be dealt with the strongest hand of the law. This is absolutely heartbreaking.”
Louise Thompson said: ‘Absolutely heartbreaking.’
The NSPCA is South Africa’s version of the RSPCA who are determined to track down the three men and post the video horror on websites across the country.
African rock pythons are known as TOPS – Threatened or Protected Species – and can grow more than 20 feet long, weigh more than 200 pounds, and kill by restricting their prey.
It means they wrap their coils around their victims and each time the prey exhales, it tightens a little until it runs out of oxygen and usually dies of cardiac arrest.
The non-venomous snakes can deliver a nasty bite when threatened and can swallow large antelopes and even crocodiles and on rare occasions have been known to swallow humans.
One python killed by hunter KH Krof in South Africa in 1958 was 7 meters long and when it was opened, a 1.5 meter long Nile crocodile was found dead!
Penalties for killing pythons range from fines starting at £2,000 to two nine-year prison sentences for a local man who killed and skinned one and another who ate its flesh to treat back pain.