To think this cannot be legal...

[user1481143387]

DS1 13 months would not go to sleep tonight so DP took him in the pushchair for a walk. He came across an absolutely massive snake in the park. Someone had let him out of a large tank apparently (not in the pic). Lots of bystanders taking pics. I know people can have these in their homes, but in public??? Cannot be legal right?

I'm a regular but name changed as I knew people would ask where this was and obviously telling the location could be outing. This is in Roberts Park, Saltaire, West Yorkshire.

This is for real.

WTF?!!!!

That's so cool! The owner would be nearby. Just keep your distance.
We have a corn snake (tiny in comparison) and we take it out onto the lawn.
These last few weeks have been great as it's so warm. Our cats know not to mess with it!

Oh and they are definitely NOT venomous. Pythons are constrictors so they squeeze their prey to death.

It's usually smaller snakes that are venomous as they don't have the size to strange their prey.

It's also very rare to have a venomous breed in this country. You need a DWA (a dangerous wildlife licence), must prove the area you are going to keep them is safe and secure, prove you have the right tools to handle them and you will be visited every now and then to make sure your licence is still valid

I'd rather meet that instead of a big bouncy off the lead dog "only being friendly" as it dumps and slobber over me

Keeping snakes as pets should be illegal as most people don’t have the expertise necessary to keep them properly.

Sadly the same could be said of cats and dogs .

Love the idea of snakes in the park. Rather puts the display of local curious I saw yesterday at out local park centre into perspective ... a grass snake skin, a few fox and rabbit skulls and a deer foot (?) .

scater what a strange thing to say. Saltaire is a perfectly normal place to live.

scater what a strange thing to say. Saltaire is a perfectly normal place to live.

It would have been perfectly safe. I keep an exotic pet and it's quite common for owners to give them a proper stretch and some fun in the sun. This hot weather is the perfect opportunity for them to catch natural UV light and is so good for them. I'm sure the owner had risk assessed and I'm sure it wouldn't have been taken out if it was due a feed 😆 . I can understand however that it's scary for non lovers to see. Not sure I would personally take one out that size but on the other hand I would have loved to witness that.

Id be terrified if i came across that. Id run like fuck

I have no problems with snakes, I'd have been right in there chatting to the owner.

Oh Flesh that’s so cute. Poor doggie 🐶

I would love to see that!
Can’t see the harm. Its supervised.

You live in Saltaire OP? You absolute jammy fucker!!!

Now if the owner was in a black cloak with the hood up...It could be 'Who must not be named' taking Nagini out for a walk

Except they're both dead Poisonous. Haven't you read HPATDH?

Fake news Buttocks...Fake news.

@FrangipaniBlue Aawwwwwwwww I love it!

There's a saying - red next to yellow, bite a fellow, red next to black, venom lack.

I've just looked up that snake to confirm for myself it's a king snake, something I've never come across before. However the website I found says that rhyme is only applicable in North Armerica where it lives.

Some kingsnake species, such as the scarlet kingsnake and California mountain kingsnake, have almost the same coloration and patterning as venomous coral snakes, making it easy to confuse them with that dangerous snake species. There is a rhyme to help you tell a deadly coral snake from its nonvenomous look-alike: “Red on yellow, kill a fellow; red on black, venom lack.”

This rhyme refers to the color of the bands on the snake. This rule goes out the window south of the border. In Latin America, there are many different species of coral snakes with a multitude of this red, black, yellow, and white combination. So, unless you are a trained snake handler, don't touch any banded snakes!

animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/kingsnake

He should have had it on a lead.

Ugh that's horrible. As long as he was in control (and how could he have been) then I'm happy for the poor tanked snake to have a walk. But how do you catch a snake that does a runner?

I am surprised that no-one has yet said "Your dog shouldn't be off the lead if it can't be recalled"

Really Poisonous? Jeez, you can't believe anything anymore!

I"m amused at all the MNers so au fait with giant snakes. It's a parallel universe some days, this is one of them.

But how do you catch a snake that does a runner?

I"m amused at all the MNers so au fait with giant snakes. It's a parallel universe some days, this is one of them.

Having been keeping snakes for over 25 years now, it's one of the very few topics on Mnet that I can actually comment on with any degree of certainty... 8 year old me could have quoted you the Latin name for the snake in the OP!

Belive it or not, a snake that size, it's not going to go far when it wanders off.

They let the prey come to them and not the other way around.

They prefer to lounge in the sunshine and bask