To think this was dangerous and shouldn't be done ?

[lisalisa]

I've been chewing this over for hours and after the initial excitement was over and I've researched the species, I'm left with the feeling that this was an incredible risk with our safety that was taken today . In this era of health and safety in
Very surprised it "passed" and was rush assessed.
Basically I was at a small farm today - a kind of children's open farm where there are goats , lambs and chickens to let and feed - with my two children today .
Announcements are generally made over a megaphone of feedings or events and this one generated some excitement . There was a snake that they were exhibiting in the grass just by the car park that was very rarely allowed out of its enclosure but was allowed out today. The farm was quite quiet no more than about a dozen people I'd say . All of us crossed the car park where there was a small field . I can't remember what separates the car park from
The field - it was either nothing or it was a low bar - thigh height . In the field was a very large snake just gliding slowly around. There were two handlers with it - I say handlers but they were not specialists . At least one was a young slight girl who's been doing the rabbit feeds just before and the chicken feeds earlier . I think she was just s general farm employee.

The snake was 22 ft long - an African Rock Python . It glided around the field parallel to us for a while no more than a foot away . The handler Explained it was a dangerous and aggressive snake and would attach unprovoked even f not hungry . It was no more than a foot away from us with either no barrier st all between us or just a bar I can't remember . We were all quite spellbound and watched it until the handlers put it away.
It was only when I came home and googled to discover more about the snake that I clicked what a dangerous snake iny is . In a zoo where they are used to such species you woukdnh be invited so Close to one with no proper barrier I'm sure. Snakes are always in their vicariously for a reason. I'm upset and puzzled2 by this as I feel the farm put our safety at risk. If that snake chose to move quickly towards us bearingg in mind it weighed over 100kg and was 22 feet we would not have stood a chance .

AIBU to contact the farm and ask for their opinion on this?

I have never been to zoo/farm in the UK that has let snakes just slither around on the grass. They've either been held by their handler or members of the public have allowed to hold it, with the handler there taking half the weight. And none of the snakes they've had out of their vivariums have been venomous.

These snakes don't grow to 22 feet anyway, so either the zoo exaggerated to try and fascinate people a bit, or you're exaggerating what they said to make your post sound more dramatic.

Snake not venomous, v unlikely to attack, two handlers there, done to "thrill" visitors.

I am not being funny but I did actually have snakes once due to the owners of the house I bought leaving them there until their house came through and the speed those fuckers can move when food is chucked into their enclosure is astonishing. Which is why I'd be bemused by this happening in a kids farm.

Oh FFS. Get a grip -life- OP. Don't you have more important things to worry about?

-I feel sorry for the snake-

Apologies, OP.

Apparently they can grow up to 22ft. in length (according to the BBC).

However, I still don't really believe a petting farm in the UK allowed one to just roam around one the grass like that.

Email the Australia Zoo (Steve Irwins) and ask them if you want an actual answer instead of a lot of opinions.

Thanks for all the comments. I'm
Going to ask the farm this morning about their risk assessment . I've looked at pics we took and there was a thin thigh high barrier between us and the snake and it was roughly a foot from us . A decision by the snake to move in. The wrong direction would have made it bet difficult for the handlers to do anything .

Re the hand washing - it's incredible that posters interpreted that to mean that I didn't know you have to wash hands after touching animals ! At nearly 50 years old and with six kids and 19 years of farm visits I'd have hoped I would know so! I was referring to the fact that we were not warned to wash before visiting the snake so that it didn't smell prey on us and increase any risk of unpredictable behaviour. It is quite conceivable that some children may have run straight from the petting animals to the snake particularly bearing in mind that the snake was not in the timetable of shows/events/feedings that was given out and was announced as a sudden exciting extra

So, there was an announcement over a megaphone at the petting farm that a snake would be exhibited in a field.... and YOU CHOSE TO GO AND LOOK AT IT.
Your choice.
Although I do agree with you that it doesn't seem like something 'Health and Safety' would be happy about it.

Post the pic of the snake!

The snake would be unlikely to attack, and if it did there are a lot of people there so it could be stopped from killing someone (by being pulled off/killed itself). The deaths of children were when they were asleep and with no one there to step in.

BUT that's not a situation you want to happen. I've seen a lot of snakes in zoos and at handling sessions and IME they only ever get small ones out.

Also I'd worry this snake could have escaped, and that is a dangerous situation as that's when it could get into a house and end up in a room with sleeping children etc.

So I do think they sound irresponsible. And we have a dirty, irresponsible petting zoo near us which I bloody hate. I once saw staff there playing with a snake and teasing it, and not in a nice way So I do believe they can make bad decisions and I think it's worth raising with them.

Also PPs asking sarcastically if you are still alive is just daft. Everyone who was there does not have to be literally dead for it to have been a potentially dangerous situation. You don't have to wait until someone dies to question whether this was good practice. In fact it is far better if people raise concerns before someone dies

egosumquisim - yes like that but much bigger and longer. I'm not actually sure how I want to raise it - sounds a bit silly to say I was at your farm yesterday and this is what happened was it risk assessed etc?

And yes I agree re smaller snakes usually being brought out and handled . That is exactly my experience - that we usually get a sanitized experience of snake handling /touching at these places not some massive ( and they said it was 22 ft long ) snake loose in the grass just a foot from people.

Google says this about the snake:

The rock python is Africa's largest snake with a particularly aggressive reputation. Reaching lengths up to 7m and weights of 90kg they have a devastating power to constrict. Their incredible size means large prey can be tackled such as monkeys, warthogs, antelopes and even crocodiles.

Better alert all the warthogs in your area then!

I'd phone them, say you were worried, point out the potential dangers as you saw it, and see how they react. If they rubbish you, you could go higher up - an RSPCA type organisation, or the local council health and safety, for example. Just say you were in a situation that worried you and you want to know if it was OK as you wouldn't want an an accident to happen in future.

I know a few people who have kept African Rocks. It was probably cold, and well fed, so probably wouldn't have leapt over the barrier to snatch a child, but then again I wouldn't keep one in a house with a child either. If it did move towards anyone then simply hooking it away (did they have a snake hook?) would have been fine. They do exhibit warning signs before striking, it wouldn't have gone from crawling around in the grass to constricting prey without warning. So I wouldn't have been concerned, but it does seem an odd choice of snake to have at a petting farm - it needs two people to handle it safely, and it's too big to allow kids to touch or hold it.

I've emailed the british assocation of herpetologists _ I think that is what it is called - I clicked on a link upthread and have emailed to ask their viewpoint . I'll let you all know what they say.

Well I was with you on this and irritated at all the 'you're not dead' type comments. However, bigger than that photo? Really?

Really? Go on, post a photo!! Am dying to see this snake...

Can't honestly believe a petting farm wold have a snake that big. They usually have small snakes you can hold.

Are you going to post some photos?

Snake! Snake! Snake! Please post a pic

Ok tried to show length of snake here but being so close wasn't possible to get picture of full length on my mobile phone . These are mobile pics not camera pics btw

OK the pics are coming