Video: Florida wildlife officers mistakenly kill legally-owned pregnant boa constrictor

Shocking video shows Florida wildlife officers killing dozens of pythons including a pregnant boa constrictor that was legally owned. NBC’s Maya Eaglin has more on the moment when they realized their 100,000-dollar mistake.
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#NBCNews #Florida #Snake

[@Ash_Carnelian]

The Boa was 10 years old, and the owner said he raised her from when she was a baby :( That's 10 years of love and care, taken away so carelessly.

[@Xane_Dragon]

He was using her to line his pockets with cash 💸

[@Badlander87X]

​@@Xane_Dragon gobshite the boa isn't on the list and they are legally breed its the pythons which are a water going snake that are the danger to the ecosystem of florida. Pick up a book next time and learn the facts

[@fritz2live]

Should've left them in the wild where they were naturally born

[@Cavegeckosol]

​@@fritz2live This boa constrictor was captive born and bred. Examining the necropsy shows she was pregnant with several designer babies with gene combos not found in wild animals. She was carrying two rare recessive traits and these animals are common legal pets across Florida.

[@shrumgus5608]

@@fritz2live Lame-brain take

[@viduraherath4008]

The amount of self restraint this man had to not get 2 charges of assaulting a police officer is insane.

[@Rip_steph30]

He wasn't assaulting since the officers did a mistake, don't forget that the snake they killed has eggs which is worth 100k

[@truthhurts9244]

It’s a snake bruh. You’re gonna attack humans bc they killed your little devil that doesn’t love you back? 🙄

[@viduraherath4008]

@@truthhurts9244 Still, apply this to any other pet. Anyone would be very angry to the point of physical confrontation

[@truthhurts9244]

@@viduraherath4008 idk lol.. I guess it might just be me that feels uncomfortable attacking men with guns and badges because they killed my pet.

[@viduraherath4008]

@@truthhurts9244 So just because they have badges you think they cant do any wrong? And its America... whats stopping the guy from carrying? Also what use is a gun when they are like 3 footsteps away?

[@gregengel1616]

Getting a boa confused with a python is like a dog catcher mistaking a German Shepherd for a Doberman Pinscher. No excuse!

[@guillemariani9715]

Boas are so pretty you can’t confuse them stupid people

[@mstalcup]

This is even worse. The two dogs are the same species and the two snakes aren't even in the same taxonomic family.

[@minutemansam1214]

That's a bit of an exaggeration. Unless you can identify individual species it can be hard to tell at a glance what is a boa and what is a python. While they aren't closely related they evolved to fill a similar ecological niche and have very similar appearances both in the shape of their head and their overall body structure. Honestly it's more skin to getting a Pit Bull Terrier mixed up with a Staffordshire Bull Terrier (in terms of how similar in appearance they are).

[@gregengel1616]

@@minutemansam1214 their head by itself gives them away. Maybe I should have said it's like comparing apples to oranges.

[@haroldsmith5150]

​@@minutemansam1214 tbf as a fwc you should be able to tell the difference fire and charge them all with animal cruelty

[@hollybeal1224]

I've never been a snake owner but I don't see any difference between a snake or my service dog. They are a part of your family. This is so sad and should have never happened. I don't think this was a mistake at all. Whoever took these actions should be held accountable.

[@meatmachine449]

DF

[@frosttheicefloeturtle8143]

Fr

[@dragonproductions236]

Not only is there video of them saying "That's a boa" before killing it, you frankly need to be either blind or mentally challenged not to be malicious. This is like mistaking a husky for a pug.

[@carolynyerby361]

@@dragonproductions236you are right it wasn’t a mistake. I believe that was the plan for the day. Those officers knew that they were being videoed and if they didn’t want people watching them they would have stopped the video. But they used this guy to make a big statement showing what other snake owners have in store if they don’t comply. I love all animals but what I saw was brutal, heartlessness and the brutality made me cry. I think that if anyone did that to any of my animals I would become dangerous. My animals are my family and I would protect them like I would for any of my family.

[@andrewbrinkworth1420]

The worst part is, seconds after the guy in grey realizes the mistake he shrugs his shoulders and say mistakes happen... Mistakes like that should never happen it wouldn't be acceptable for a vet to put the wrong dog down and this should be held to the same standards.

[@blackpajamas6600]

These are, unfortunately, police officers and police officers don't have a strong track record of learning from their mistakes. The insular nature of their profession, the wall of silence they build around themselves, and the undying support officers provide each other (even after serious ethics breaches) mean this won't even set them back. They (the department) will pretend to be sorry and may (may!) pay damages, but they will never truly live down this "mistake."

[@theannualantagonist5930]

“Mistakes happen” Oh mistakes about to happen more I assure you.. 🙃

[@SUGAR_XYLER]

He deserves a medal 😂

[@lilflasheyc]

I didn’t see that part

[@itsintheword230]

You guys are bent out of shape over a snake..... You're the same type of people that would be quiet about the millions of babies being aborted. But does the news media cover that???? Everyone makes mistakes it's just that the media has not televised yours. The guy was already having the other snakes killed but nobody's saying anything about that

[@Leesboringlife]

Wildlife officers that can't correctly identify a species of a snake should not be employed in a wildlife job. Identifying animal species is part of their job. They should be able to do that before even being hired on as an wildlife officer

[@sabinereynaudsf]

Those snakes are not US wildlife.

[@Ithaca-vv5dy]

Weren’t the other snakes they were putting down the same species tho?

[@punkndrublic187]

@@Ithaca-vv5dy No they were putting down pythons not a legal boa. Totally different type of snake

[@Ithaca-vv5dy]

@@punkndrublic187ahhh so the other dozen or so snakes were all pythons?

[@recklart8592]

The species isn't the problem. It's the snake itself. It's true that a snake's coloration is like a fingerprint, each one has a slightly different pattern, but a variation can be as small as one dark line being a few scales off in one spot. The fact that the cameraman told them not to do it should've been a clue, but identification of one snake to another usually means selecting a specific part of the pattern like a birthmark. This really is negligence, and they absolutely need to be fired (I would establish a law requiring retraining, we have too few exotic experts as it is,) and the owner somehow made whole over this, just wanted to clarify a bit so you can see how a mistake like this might be made from simple human error.

[@X_RayLT]

>Be Wildlife officer >Cant correctly Tell apart a Boa from a Python

[@NewEnglandReptile]

This is the process of a state agency that has run out of control and needs to be held accountable. This is tragic and captive pet snakes do not deserve this. Many people keep pet snakes snd they love them Just as we love any other pet!

[@alexcrowder1673]

Well said!

[@Textile_Courtesan]

A big thanks to Donnie, Kevin and everyone else at NERD for posting this video in full a couple days ago. I'm urging all my friends and family to join and support USARK because it's these people who are fighting for us keepers.

[@ChuckWortman]

And many more let them go in the wild where they devastate wildlife habitats because they dont want to care fir them anymore. Why weren't signs placed on the cages? Why wasn't that cage lo ked shut? Why wasn't that snake moved someplace safer just in case?

[@dcrab1138]

They were. The knew what to leave alone. The bigger problem in Florida is the fact that FWC is literally ran by LAND DEVELOPERS not people who know and care about the wildlife but the people responsible for killing more native species than any snake.

[@TesseraCraft]

you said it

[@TheCoryAyers]

The owner did not request them to euthanize the animals. His back was against the wall. He did everything they asked, they then told him to stop selling the animals, they showed up and told him they made him into a criminal and he said he didn't want to be a criminal. That's coercion. The officers also inhumanely executed them. They didn't follow their own protocols for humane euthanization. All of what I just said is on their body cams, which they also turned on and off during these events. They should all be fired, the laws should be reversed, and the owners should be compensated. What a disgrace.

[@JulianUccetta]

And sadly they won't suffer any consequences and the state won't pay a dime, at at the very least settle for a tiny fraction and admit no fault. What a system.

[@licanisbeastilarica5761]

@@JulianUccettaIt’s coming out of tax payers money too

[@Janellabelle]

Fired and ARRESTED for destruction of property over $100k then personally made to keep a job where their paychecks are garnished until this man has been recompensed a VERY generous judgment amount. Under the law, a pet is considered your property. They just killed someone's property worth at LEAST $100k! If you or I destroyed $100k worth of someone's property we'd be up to our ears in legal trouble we'd be in. In the full video when he says how much the snake's litter of babies is worth, to the cops when he loses it on them, $100k, the cop says, "don't worry the state will make it right." And by "the state" he means the taxpayers. As a snake lover it hurt me to know he rehomed 100 of his pythons when they were banned in Florida and had 30 left to go, which IS a lot, but he was making huge progress with a very humane option to the problem and they just ran in with NAIL GUNS, unannounced, and killed 30 gorgeous pythons and the poor mother boa. The FWA was cruel to these animals to not grant them the time extension like he requested. We don't want wildlife officials who are cruel to animals. He wasn't dumping them in the Everglades. He was rehoming them out of the state. That takes time! You have to find a new owner and then arrange how to get a huge Python to them, and they don't even live in Florida. Anyway. His pet of 10 years that was pregnant with $100k worth of babies and she can get pregnant quite a few times so she wasn't JUST worth 100k. She was worth 100k maybe at that very moment but her potential was far more!

[@viaxxl]

Using a nail gun and taking photos with the almost dead snakes is another level of sadistic

[@qnibly]

I’ll sign that petition!

[@brice0403]

Not only was it the owner’s beloved pet, but it was pregnant with $100,000 worth of baby boas

[@Specogecko]

Shows how well FWC takes their responsibility seriously. How could they be the ones to determine what reptiles should be banned or not when they don’t even know how to train their officers to be able to identify such reptiles.

[@blacktemplarbrotherlucius1935]

Yeah I'm no snake guy but i just google what a Boa an Python look like and even i can see the difference in the patterns on the scales.

[@alex4863]

I personally do not like snakes, but my heart goes out to the guy. He was a law abiding citizen n was professional with his pets. I hope he can get some justice and a settlement.

[@frosttheicefloeturtle8143]

fr

[@chamab.6800]

The way dude was essentially like whatever. That makes my blood boil. Had it been a dog he would have at least felt bad. Snakes get such a bad rap. Pet snakes deserve just as much empathy as furry pets.

[@liamhgd581]

Some don't Evan care about dogs. Your jumping to conclusions. Plenty of officers shoot dogs and don't care. Not all definitely not. But your saying that like it don't happen

[@frosttheicefloeturtle8143]

Exactly

[@Janellabelle]

You overestimate him to think he'd feel bad for a dog.

[@viaxxl]

Mammal bias

[@Monkchelle_Kongbama]

@@liamhgd581 psh, typical Evan, hate that guy

[@suesmith7946]

It can't possibly be a "mistake" - they were told not to touch her. Wasn't just her they killed but all her unborn babies too. (Not to mention the other snakes who could have been rehomed if they'd let him). This is totally disgusting, sickening and heartbreaking.

[@SADrina666]

So sad. My condolences to the guy who lost all of his babies. RIP to the snakes, especially mama Boa.

[@haitiancreolewithluciano]

lol

[@mollyhatchet7075]

@@haitiancreolewithluciano LOL INDEED . WONDER HOW MANY BUNNIES HAD TO DIE TO KEEP MAMMA BOA'S TUMMY FULL ??? IT'S A REAL CRY ME A RIVER TRAGEDY . TRAGEDY ...

[@moldysshoe8639]

​@@mollyhatchet7075, you're upset because carnivores are carnivores?

[@mollyhatchet7075]

​@@moldysshoe8639WHY DO YOU THINK I'M UPSET ? I JUST FED MY HUNGRY TREE CHIPPER A JUICY BOA ...HE LOVES THOSE . WHO'S UPSET ? CIRCLE OF LIFE .LOL .

[@jessicakeeney2343]

​@moldysshoe8639 vegans are mad about that too 😂

[@Fordybag]

It wasnt a mistake. They were told a multitude of times, having a news company say it was a mistake is sad excuse to "look" like a mistake.

[@xobr]

if you’re thinking “oh its a snake i hate snakes” keep in mind that man saw that snake like you see your dog or your cat and someone accidentally euthanized them when they didnt need to be

[@monofrio6804]

Man that’s not even the same. My dog sleeps next to me everyday and is running around the house keeping my family safe, and is a true companion. I get he loves the snake but I would not compare a dog to a snake that sleeps in a box 90 percent of the time. I’m sure the snake would like to be free in nature and not in the box being used as a breeding tool. Let’s be real, that all that snake is, a money maker and that’s probably what hurts the dude more. The people made a mistake and they are human, they also looked remorseful.

[@jonas34ptfernandes38]

​@@monofrio6804 those snakes are captive bred they dont know what the outside is like its basicly what humans did with wolfs/dogs and just because snakes cant love you back doesnt stop their owners to love them anyway

[@juliek5094]

None of them needed to be euthanized.....

[@monofrio6804]

@@jonas34ptfernandes38 exactly, it’s a captive snake. Not a dog that actually shares a life with its owner. That guy runs a business and that’s snakes produces for him more than it provides companionship. I’m not saying it’s right what happened, it’s very unfortunate and I do feel for him. I just don’t like the comparison between a true companion like a dog and a snake that’s in a box probably 95 percent of its captive life.

[@someoneelse1259]

@@monofrio6804 guess you own a slave instead of a companion, If you need something from them

[@DzBeanz]

I'm not particularly a fan of snakes....but this is a sad, SAD story.

[@davidbarnes4742]

F them snakes

[@chaos6687]

Thank you for having some empathy

[@jeanalvarez4486]

Have you heard of the 18000 cows that died from a fire in a dairy farm yesterday in texas?

[@reemagee4828]

My sentiments exactly. To hear the owner's anguish is heartbreaking

[@stevesand8845]

@@jeanalvarez4486 don’t that many cows get killed anyways in factory farms

[@Beek88]

They should have to pay out their own pocket or face charges. If I destroyed something with that much value I'd be headed to prison for sure. Idiots like them need to have real consequences

[@TecraX2]

FWC: "Python, Boa, Mamba, Cobra, Garden Hose, Power Cord - They all look the same to us!"

[@WaryJester]

A boa and a python are very different. I can appreciate the one guy being distraught and actually being remorseful, but that's incredibly sad. A boa raised from a baby, pregnant and about to contribute to the pet trade of legal owners and wildlife enthusiasts, killed by momentary ignorance and a single bad call. The poor thing.

[@sabinereynaudsf]

Contribute to the pet trade? More snakes ending up in warehouses and cages.

[@bragagd1618]

@@sabinereynaudsf Yes, because they weren't going to be removed from their natural habitat

[@WaryJester]

@@sabinereynaudsf yes, that how animals get shipped out to customers. In crates and are temporarily stored in warehouses of postal services that specialize in live cargo. And yeah, maybe some collectors and enthusiasts actually have warehouses converted into reptile rooms with specialized habits, brooding shelves, or even a refrigerator for hibernation. Snakes love dark places, especially warm ones. Are there people who don't take care of snakes? Of course and they shouldn't have animals to begin with. What is your point exactly? Do you disagree that this snake should have been spared, or are you implying that they should've killed her to stop the offspring to go to the animal trade?

[@ajx1994]

"They all look the same to me..." - Police in America

[@Bekkmyster]

​@@ajx1994 fuuuu....even with snakes this is true.....

[@deensta745]

im not a snake owner but just seeing how they handled them was really disturbing, you really really feel for the snakes

[@liamhgd581]

When it comes to handling a snake you don't know. They handled it correctly as them things are essentially pure muscle. They restrained the head and kept control of the body. Naturally the snake tryd to get away. Wich makes it look worse than it is. Your jumping to conclusions on that side of it. It's just disgusting they didn't Evan take the time to identify what snake it was before hand.

[@pennysunshine5261]

You can see the other helpless snakes in the enclosures stressing out as they see their friends being murdered, they probably knew they were next 😢

[@liamhgd581]

@@pennysunshine5261 talk about blowing it out of proportion

[@mermaidmama7880]

How exactly was their “handling” abusive? Christ Almighty, they are enormous, unpredictable wild animals. I’m so so tired of people who live in the city, who only experience wildlife on the Discovery channel. Wild Animals should NEVER BE contained in a box which represents less than a 1/4 of their natural habitat. The individuals,we should be directing our anger towards, are the SNAKE BREEDERS who have created this mess to begin with. I have NO empathy toward an individual or an organization which places wildlife in inhumane, unenriched cages. Would you feel angry if your neighbor kept a dolphin in their lap pool..? Then bred the dolphin to produce baby dolphins to be illegally sold to neighbors for their kids hot tub play toys? The snake breeding world is corrupt and filled with not nice or respectful individuals.

[@mermaidmama7880]

@@pennysunshine5261 OMG, are you serious??? Your handle tells me Everything . How exactly was their “handling” abusive? Christ Almighty, they are enormous, unpredictable wild animals. I’m so so tired of people who live in the city, who only experience wildlife on the Discovery channel. Wild Animals should NEVER BE contained in a box which represents less than a 1/4 of their natural habitat. The individuals,we should be directing our anger towards, are the SNAKE BREEDERS who have created this mess to begin with. I have NO empathy toward an individual or an organization which places wildlife in inhumane, unenriched cages. Would you feel angry if your neighbor kept a dolphin in their lap pool..? Then bred the dolphin to produce baby dolphins to be illegally sold to neighbors for their kids hot tub play toys? The snake breeding world is corrupt and filled with not nice or respectful individuals.

[@OnceUponaTimer]

No news agency would show this much of a dog being killed. This shows that you don't think any more of that man's feelings than them cops did.

[@1b3d5]

This show that the officer are completely incompetent it is their job to know different species of snake

[@LaLeoRonroneo]

I don’t really understand the story but I 100% appreciate the compassion that is happening in this story and the comments. Humanity does have good hearts. Precious animals don’t deserve to die senselessly. ❤

[@dominoep]

The Pythons were illegal but the Boa wasn't and they couldn't tell the difference between the Boa and the Pythons...

[@kilitankeilts]

I'm with you about the story. So, who recorded it and why didn't they speak up?

[@Textile_Courtesan]

The Owner of the snake collection was being compliant with the Florida Conservation Department about his snake collection. He had over 100 constrictors that were legal to own until 2021. He was given a grace period of 1 year to relocate all of his collection. Moving that large of a number of living animals takes time and when his grace period ran out he wrote to them for an extension as he still had 30 of them left he was in the process of rehoming. Instead of talking about it they showed up at his door and told him "time's up" and explained that they had to euthanize the remaining animals. In the extended original video, he specifically states "this snake here is a snake that is not banned- don't touch her." He set up a surveillance camera as a fail safe and caught them purposely killing the legal animal.

[@fioregiallo]

​@@Textile_Courtesan your explanation is so much better than this news clip. Thank you!

[@OhayoKevin]

@@kilitankeilts they were recording video of themselves, the guy screaming you killed a legal snake was not the owner

[@andreyuh811]

That is unacceptable! I hope this guy sues the crap out of them

[@Alex-dh2cx]

I'm gonna be honest. That guy was planning to sell those babies. He's a breeder and part of the snake problem in Florida. How many of those babies would have been released into the everglades to wreak havoc on the environment by irresponsible owners he sold snakes to. They should just ban it all in that state

[@jurassicthunder]

relax bozo it was a mistake. (cry more internet soldier clowns 🤡🤡🤣🤣🤣)

[@isaiasc4914]

@@jurassicthunder grow up

[@cisco537]

@@isaiasc4914sit down!

[@blackeastertheguy]

@@jurassicthunder yeah welcome to the real world buddy 6 figure mistakes get settled in court when one side won’t pay.

[@Remikyn]

This made me cry. As a snake owner, nobody should have to go through that. Snakes are loved by their owners just like any other pet, and these snakes are 30+ year commitments for owners (similar commitments to horses and parrots). I'm very disapointed in those officers and the owner should be fully compensated for the financial and emotional loss.

[@itsintheword230]

He was having other snakes killed but then when this one is put down it's a big issue all of a sudden. He should have did the job himself instead of relying on the police so he can point the finger.

[@ProffesionalZombie12]

Yeah, I usually have a strong stomach for these things. But I sobbed when I watched this video. My poor Colombian Rainbow Boa got a crash course in his new role as an ESA. Eventually had to get out my veteran ESA corn snake to help regulate. This video and her caretaker's heartbreak tore my heart clean out 💔

[@OutsidrClips]

@@itsintheword230 he wasn’t having his snakes killed, that was FWC. The big deal is that the Boa Constrictor was legal to own, I could walk into petco and buy one. They had no business killing the snake; which they admitted to. Be kind

[@diecirl6637]

@@itsintheword230 he didn’t actually request for them to be euthanized and they actually killed 29 retics 5 burms and 33 boas, those babies were almost fully formed and would’ve been born within a month so I think they should count 100%

[@ChesterTheSpider]

​@itsintheword230 it's a big issue because he didn't have a choice... why should he pull the trigger to do something the law is forcing him to do? This is what happens when law enforcement over reaches and you send goons to "protect and serve."

[@KC-ft9hp]

Why r they killing innocent animals ? Why?this is horrible 😢 sickening no heart 💔 they need to be accountable pay for what they did

[@tomcat8662]

Drives me nuts how when you specifically tell someone not to do something, they end up doing it anyway. The owner was very clear with his words because he knew what could possibly happen with his pet snake being housed at a facility that euthanizes invasive snakes.

[@juliek5094]

Reticulated pythons are not invasive in florida...

[@patronofsaints2062]

The Owner of the snake collection was being compliant with the Florida Conservation Department about his snake collection. He had over 100 constrictors that were legal to own until 2021. He was given a grace period of 1 year to relocate all of his collection. Moving that large of a number of living animals takes time and when his grace period ran out he wrote to them for an extension as he still had 30 of them left he was in the process of rehoming. Instead of talking about it they showed up at his door and told him "time's up" and explained that they had to euthanize the remaining animals. In the extended original video, he specifically states "this snake here is a snake that is not banned- don't touch her." He set up a surveillance camera as a fail safe and caught them purposely killing the legal animal.

[@kingofrivia1248]

They werent housed at any facility those officers illegally entered his home and started shooting snakes.

[@Queensofafrica8]

I’d sue EVERYONE involved collectively and individually 😡😡😡😡😡😡

[@charlesosborne4944]

That's disgusting. I hope each one of them is held accountable and terminated from the position they are obviously not qualified for. They basically murdered someone's pet and that pet's viable offspring.

[@spankyssurprise1361]

I thought that if they're "viable" they can live outside the womb.

[@charlesosborne4944]

@@spankyssurprise1361 Viable means that they have been given the time and space to grow into "viable". This animal was ripped from their habit and killed on camera, the viable offspring left defenseless.

[@LindaC616]

​@@charlesosborne4944"ripped from their habitat"? They were pets, not living in a natural environment

[@sabinereynaudsf]

They are wildlife officers, why do they need to know all exotic pet snakes?

[@spankyssurprise1361]

@@charlesosborne4944 They weren't born yet correct? Viable definition pertaining to animals...capable of surviving or living successfully.

[@kalebmanning4425]

This guy needs to sue for not just damages but emotional distress. A huge pay day will not fix this but their needs to be a serious punitive amount attached to this.

[@kamillaparker6953]

Poor poor man. My heart hurts for him. Only last night I just had a dream about my python dying and I legitimately woke up crying. When you raise any animal for decades, how devastating it is to lose them especially if it was murdered. So cruel. So sorry for him and the snake.

[@Rockymarciono731]

A black woman with a pet snake 😁 that’s a first lol

[@Thrax-dh8po]

​@@Rockymarciono731 do you live under a rock?

[@Rockymarciono731]

@@Thrax-dh8po and here comes the pc babies 😭😭😭

[@Thrax-dh8po]

@@Rockymarciono731 an original insult. Groundbreaking. Please stay in school and focus on graduating.

[@Rockymarciono731]

@@Thrax-dh8po im older than you little wimpy fairy boy

[@LoriTorrini]

This makes me so angry. It’s inexcusable.

[@Goodetingz]

This is absolutely horrifying. I feel so deeply for this man. 😢

[@dullydulls4550]

Negligence. They should be charged and fined. Imagine if your pet was wrongly euthanized. What an absolutely heartbreaking way to lose a friend.

[@lou4188]

Sickening, just sooo horrible! How could they just start murdering this man's animals right then and there, in such a brutal way! Why weren't they at least put into custody, and allowed the owner to have a fair trial or something? Unbelievable injustice!!!

[@LivewireO13]

That's why when performing euthanasia, multiple checks and sign offs for each and every individual animal must be completed with witnesses, including species, breed, gender, are they pregnant, ext. This is just sad to watch. ☹️

[@TheSilael]

Wildlife officer couldn't tell a boa was pregnant, nor noticed it was on the list to keep? They need to start forcing officers to take IQ tests, and even reading tests apparently. Of course any money compensation will be paid by tax payers and not the police. As a side note, I feel if a police officer of any kind makes a suspension-worthy mistake/crime then it should be unpaid. Cops don't learn their lesson from paid suspensions.

[@tronalddump8776]

Cops don't learn there lesson when there immune from any wrongdoing. If police had to pay for there crimes there would be less and less police brutality issues.

[@Sunshine0235]

And all the cages were labeled too. Makes it even worse

[@fan.80s_90s]

Do these idiots from the Fish and Games have qualified immunity as cops?

[@THEREALSCAMLIKELY]

Welp

[@recklart8592]

I see a lot of people making a critical error. Wildlife officers are not police. They are a separate entity with fewer protections and far less investment. They get sued often for things like this, and usually get suspended temporarily. Exotic experts are very hard to come by, and very expensive to hire, so only one of these guys was an actual expert. Yea, this was total negligence, the man verbally warning them not to do it should've been a clue, but this happens all the time from simple human error even with trained professionals supervising. Think of it this way, a professional identifies snakes with a 95% success rate, sound good right? But that means 1 out of 20 snakes ends up like this, and when you have to "handle" dozens each day, it happens a lot. Unfortunately, proper investment to handle the problem effectively would mean billions of dollars, good luck getting deathsantis to pass something like that.

[@annieleonheart7593]

I had a red tail boa growing up. You can really tell the difference between pythons and boas, specially if you have training

[@markghitman]

The guy got setup for failure and they murdered his pets. Disgusting

[@diecirl6637]

Her name was big shirl and she was pregnant with 32 almost fully developed baby snakes including red dragons worth several thousand dollars each but she was someone’s pet, and her babies were going to be people’s pets, but that didn’t happen because they got massacred and there needs to be very severe lifelong consequences for the people involved

[@libralillyknits]

Lifelong consequences ? 🤦‍♀️

[@diecirl6637]

@@libralillyknits consequences that affect you for your entire life, like not being able to get a job in the same field ever again

[@AJTramberg]

Stop it. A snake died. Unfortunate, and the guy should be compensated, but we'll all survive.

[@diecirl6637]

@@AJTramberg over 50 people seem to agree with me

[@PrincessJuliet101]

@@AJTramberg wonder if you’d feel the same way if it was a dog or cat that was wrongfully killed. Imagine a $100k pregnant show dog being killed

[@nicholasgrey5225]

That lawsuit is going to be EPIC!!!!

[@magical8013]

I love how the cops just say it was a mistake and go about their work like it's nothing big

[@kenjones2874]

They do the same thing to humans and get desk duty.

[@Nitro89]

That mans biggest mistake was becomming a wildlife officer

[@ScienceisRadAF]

And the way they just left all their bodies strewn about on the floor. 🥺

[@landosaquatics]

They should pay for the price of the mother snake and for each egg she was carrying. This guy will more than likely win his court battle. Especially since he has all his legal paperwork in line. But that doesn’t take away from the fact he will never get his 10year old best friend back. That person should be fired asap before he kills anymore animals.

[@Xane_Dragon]

It's a reptile, not an animal 🙄

[@Hapahilo619]

​@@Xane_Dragon Clearly, someone has never taken a basic Biology course. Don't worry bud, I'll help you out. an·i·mal /ˈanəm(ə)l/ noun noun: animal; plural noun: animals a living organism that feeds on organic matter, typically having specialized sense organs and nervous system and able to respond rapidly to stimuli.

[@Specogecko]

They give live birth, so there was literally 32 baby snakes inside that were only a month away from being mature. So practically killed all the snakes inside that boa as well.

[@bitchhp2973]

@@Xane_Dragonit’s still an animal… That gives birth to live young..and is sentient.

[@casey_unoriginal]

Just interacting so this gets higher in the comments, carry on

[@alex1vid]

"It was a mistake.".. words seldom said when officials murder human beings. Instead it tends to be "I feared for my life!" or "Did you turn off the bodycam?"

[@brettbentley2821]

Ah yes, savages that point firearms at police officers are never at fault for lethal retaliation

[@boiling_snow_water_]

Exactly.

[@TheRandompaint]

Snakes aren't fighting back and running off😂

[@kanelive2686]

​@TheRandompaint The majority of snake catching videos I see, the snake is trying to get away....

[@zsn1gman]

It's kinda disturbing how many people commenting here think this is ok just because they don't like snakes....

[@supaplayer]

It’s absolutely disgusting

[@KingMaltheo]

This is why you have specialists no matter what field to always double check so mistakes don’t happen

[@BackwardsMrahc]

It wasn't a mistake or an error. They were labeled , and you can easily identify them .

[@blt4life112]

One guy felt guilty, the others really didn't seem to care.

[@jourdansarpy4935]

“It was a mistake”. Law enforcement officers don’t have empathy

[@aerystargaryenii2565]

Of course and they will help him through these emotional times by telling him to force his feelings down

[@ingamingpc1634]

​@@aerystargaryenii2565 mostly because they're men

[@aerystargaryenii2565]

@@ingamingpc1634 and Men are what we are 😂

[@utopii6]

Maybe the others were on the orders of that one guy.

[@Tomofdahook17]

What an absolute disgrace. They should all be terminated immediately.

[@kross6]

Let's be clear. This was no mistake. This was not an accident. This was intentional and disgusting.

[@CarneDeBlaQ]

This was not a mistake. In bodycam footage the officers repeatedly are told the boa is not an illegal species/not to be euthanized. And the office affirms it back several times, sees tags that it is a boa and proceeds anyway.

[@beccatalley9298]

My heart goes out to this man. No one should have to witness their family being taken from them. There’s no excuses for what’s going here. I hope he’s coping well and he receives immediate compensation for his loss❤️

[@joshscritchfield693]

The guy in the blue kept looking at the cage where the boa was and kept saying that’s a boa but they still killed it

[@johnnylego807]

This video has my blood boiling!!! these officers NEED TO BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE!! Fired and CHARGED.

[@thankyouforincorrectingme]

They must be held accountable. In order for this to happen they were careless and skipped necessary and required steps. Euthanizing animals is a horrendous “job”, but a responsibility that should be handled with compassion, detail and professionalism. This wasn’t just an “error in recognizing the incorrect species", this was pure negligence.

[@RachW8512]

This breaks my heart as an owner of a 20 year old snake. I hope he sues TF out of those incompetent officers.

[@watchjaredwork1487]

“Alleged mistake” is right. They did that on purpose.

[@billyeggers3831]

I know money's not going to bring the snake back, but I hope that dude gets a ton of cash for their mistake.

[@williambuckhalter3271]

The guy had no choice but to let them do what they wanted or he was gonna be taken to jail the guy in the blue shirt looked dead at the boa and the label on the boa cage but they still did it its all messed up killing the ones in Captivity Aint going to help nothing to help with the ones in loose in the wild

[@Murdokk73]

“Accidentally”. It looked pretty deliberate.

[@agentswipe6662]

The fact people do this as a job and are respected but everyone else on earth is an evil monster if they did the same thing to those officers children is just absolutely nuts

[@heatherwalker9268]

This is absolutely heartbreaking and a grievous abuse of power. The actions taken by FWC were needless and rash. These individuals had no training nor authority to euthanize these snakes and didn't even bother to have a licensed veterinarian oversee the procedures.

[@thrashercentral1792]

I feel for the man No one should go through that at all. Those officers deserve to be fired ASAP.

[@jameszamora9416]

That’s not an accident, nor was it a mistake, it was negligence.

[@Rebelmutt507]

I feel for that man. He truly was horrified at the mistake and what had happened. I feel even more for the person who owned that snake.

[@m00se40]

It definitely hurt when he lost that $100k…

[@A1Bokeh]

@@m00se40 also the fact he raised that snake since it was born and bred in captivity and been caring for it for years. I am sure youve never purchased a pet and live off grid with vegan food and arent even using a cellphone..Like a good little global citizen you are lol. Im sure you are a business owner as well lol and not a clown

[@MadameCorgi]

@@m00se40 pets still are pets if they have monetary value

[@jazzoboe44]

Watch the footage released by NERD (New England Reptile Distributors)…the perpetrated were not remorseful at ALL…they were incompetent, apathetic, and there's evidence (albeit not absolute proof) that they may have done it on purpose…

[@konigstiger3252]

How do you become a Wildlife contorl officer but can't tell boa from a python

[@yourbestpallshawn4139]

They sound like babies “it was an accident pwease don’t tell my boss 🥺” type of energy…

[@stefonny]

This is so tragic 😢. I feel bad for the snakes and now feel empathy for the man who did this careless mistake when he realized what he had done.

[@kyleshutt8082]

It’s a snake you nut case you kinda people drive me nuts the same type of people that worry more about a dog if it’s mentioned in a house fire that killed let’s say 6 people

[@Joemondaking]

Wow people relax. It’s a snake. It was an accident, not purposeful, and officers immediately felt shock and regret.

[@gman3864]

​@@Joemondaking it was pregnant you pos

[@david3224]

​@@Joemondaking I'm not entirely sure about all the officers feeling regret. You can literally see one of them just shrug it off like "oh well". Like it was almost an act of retaliation for this guy having all those "illegal" snakes.

[@itsintheword230]

Did you feel sorry that this guy was having the other snakes euthanized ? This is a ridiculous news report just to try to smear police officers. Why did he call the police officer's in the 1st place?Why didn't he just put the snakes down himself????

[@saville1712]

I totally understand I live on the other side in Ft. Myers . If this would've happened to my Black throat, Sumatran, and Bosch monitor I would've been in shambles . I'm very sorry for your loss mate . I Hope you can recover .

[@LonelyPluto317]

We are all watching this, we are all feeling his emotions and it’s not just anger.

[@s0fa274]

How can you be a wildlife officer and not know what kind of animal you’re dealing with?

[@tessy1111]

I do hope they are hold accountable of this big mistake , how could they not known the difference!!!? It's just ridiculous!!

[@musickfreek]

This is why teachers tell you to always follow directions and check your work before you turn it in. Those are life skills that prevent harm.

[@harleyquinn5774]

I am no snake enthusiast, but my heart goes out to the man whose beloved pet and family member of 10 years (with more decades together ahead of them) was cruelly and negligently taken from him too soon. 😢

[@DrJay1122]

Its not an accident when your specifically told not to do it.

[@phyrehaven6397]

I am just hearing about this; I am in Utah, and I couldn’t believe it was a real story. The further I looked into it, the more angry I got. I have mostly Colubrids and a couple Rosy Boas, but as people have said, You know a boa when you see one. If you are going to wear a badge and tout Zoological seniority over everyone else, you better know every frickin’ animal in the book! I am going to school for Entomology and you better believe I can tell an Aphonopelma chalcodes from a Brachypelma hamorii. And I have zero authority over nothing!

[@jazzoboe44]

Fellow Utah herper here, this breaks my heart. I hope our fishing & wildlife services aren't this corrupt and incompetent…

[@thelowmein9143]

This is a confusing story. The FWC said in their statement that the owner relinquished some and were supposed to be euthanized. And some were pets? Why were they in the same facility? Why weren’t the pets with their owners in the first place? If the now illegal snakes are in a facility like this where they are safe and not harming wildlife what’s the hurry? Give him more time to re-home them.

[@patronofsaints2062]

The Owner of the snake collection was being compliant with the Florida Conservation Department about his snake collection. He had over 100 constrictors that were legal to own until 2021. He was given a grace period of 1 year to relocate all of his collection. Moving that large of a number of living animals takes time and when his grace period ran out he wrote to them for an extension as he still had 30 of them left he was in the process of rehoming. Instead of talking about it they showed up at his door and told him "time's up" and explained that they had to euthanize the remaining animals. In the extended original video, he specifically states "this snake here is a snake that is not banned- don't touch her." He set up a surveillance camera as a fail safe and caught them purposely killing the legal animal. this is more detailed than the news story. also I think they were all being kept there because that is where they all belonged

[@nicolegoodew1547]

They were all being kept in this facility because FWC had him move the snakes. Its also common for reptile breeders to loan their animals for breeding purposes, or to hold onto them when something comes up. Check out Intrepid Exotics or Clints Reptiles for more information if you're still confused on this whole matter. They break down every statement and video that is currently available

[@Josie-6]

He legally owned ALL of them. They were grandfathered in. Don’t forget that part.

[@BorderlineBinge]

Imagine someone killed your pets, slowly, on the floor of your workplace, took a selfie with your dead pet, threw their body in the trash, killed your friend's pet too, and left you to clean up the blood. At no level did this have to go like this. These animals were in locked enclosures, they were microchipped, and had a keeper with the knowledge and experience to meet any requirements the state could throw at him - as he had for the past decade.

[@andrewl2737]

For the people in the comment section that keep saying that pythons are an invasive species and this was a good thing, understand that the snake that was killed wasn't a python, it was a boa constrictor which is a very different breed of snake and importantly NONINVASIVE.

[@sabinereynaudsf]

Neither Boa Constrictors, African Rock Pythons, nor Burmese Pythons are native to Florida. They were all introduced into the Florida wild via the pet trade or escapes. They are invasives.

[@andrewl2737]

@@sabinereynaudsf Non-native and non-invasive are two different things. An organism can be considered non-native and not invasive and boa constrictors fall under that category.

[@Bennysol]

@@sabinereynaudsf illegal immigrants are invasive as well, but I'm sure you're fine letting them vote and putting them on welfare

[@Specogecko]

What stupid is, there’s a reason why your not seeing all different colour morphs of Burmese pythons out there, because nobody is releasing them as pets! They all escaped from a facility that was destroyed by a hurricane that had a bunch of wild type Burmese.

[@Specogecko]

@@sabinereynaudsf non-native and invasive are two different things🤦🏻‍♂️

[@aerohk]

Pets are priceless, hope the agency has a deep wallet. It will be a multi-million lawsuit.

[@EDZYFY]

I work in research. I use the word “inadvertently” a few times in a year. But I don’t think “inadvertently killed” is acceptable in any context. The officers were incompetent and reckless.

[@twobirds01]

Crazy the amount of incompetence here, told multiple times, and all three of them just didn’t remember.The fact that none of them knew the difference between a boa and a python, this man was simply trying to do the right thing and follow the law and these guys made a life changing mistake for him, you wonder why we don’t wanna give these people our guns

[@TheMulToyVerse]

When dealing with multiple ~anything~ that needs to be sorted or handled correctly, take the extra 30 seconds (usually less) to verify that you are doing them correctly The dude in the blue shirt was right in the thick of things, helped hold down the snake, saw the dude in uniform preparing to do what he was there to do and only after the fact had any reaction… If there was even a moment where the guy in blue intended to only get a better look at the snake in question, he should’ve done literally anything to convey that. “Hold on, Bill, just gotta double check this one” Or “I’m not seeing this one on the list, give Bob and I a sec to double check this one” Or anything close to either of those. Plenty of time to say something while he was reaching in, while he was helping bring the snake down or while holding the snake in place. *COMMUNICATION*

[@CharlieNasty-cd5hu]

They did it on purpose, dude. If you watch the video it'd very obvious

[@Petta79]

FWC trying to spin this that he relinquished the animals willingly is an ugly lie. He offered to relinquish them under duress when being charged with a crime. FWC refused the offer. Then fourteen months later decided THIS inhumane and incorrectly applied two step process where they skipped step two was the way to go to euthanize these animals. The boa being killed was an accident they should pay for but this entire situation was avoidable and is FWC.

[@pineapple4311]

So you killed a 10 year old pregnant pet who the owner grew up with and simply apologized for and won’t do it in the future. How many 10years can the owner have to raise a pet like this !?

[@wepaq4131]

This is unacceptable, and heartbreaking 💔 something needs to be done!

[@stirfry741]

Ughhhhh my poor babies. I love my pythons so much this is so hard to watch. They are wrathing and struggling they know those men weren’t going to be nice to them. I hate this world

[@samuelmashpow9854]

There needs to be more discipline against officers when they make mistakes like this. It’s not fair to us Taxpayers to have to pay for their dumb mistakes all the time. They never have to feel the financial burden of their mistakes except for probably being assigned desk duty for a month or two

[@phangirlable]

The mistake (if it even was one because they were told and there was a label on the enclosure) is only the tip of the iceberg. They pretty much terrorized the owner of the snakes for over a year while he tried to do everything correctly so no snake had to be killed. That death commando showed up unannouced.

[@luismiguel5391]

Pythons were legal until that point. Make it make sense

[@shaneecuevas7990]

Omg. I am really afraid of snakes. But I put myself in the owners shoes. If something like that happened to my dogs, I would lose my mind! So sad!

[@brendanconlon8292]

These days, many of the snakes you can own are really very docile and sweet.

[@CreaturesGtS]

While I do not own snakes, I do own reptiles and my heart goes out to this man. No pet should ever be put down

[@jasonlacroix6083]

They want to find some iguanas, lizards and chameleons to target next. Then it's turtles, tortoises and terrapins.

[@Hana.Behl-Lecter]

Euthanasia has its place....it's a kindness to animals that are suffering. This, though, is definitely something else...

[@frosttheicefloeturtle8143]

@@jasonlacroix6083 ;-;

[@CreaturesGtS]

@@Hana.Behl-Lecter I agree. I guess I worded that wrong

[@sova656]

those animals werent suffering they were being fed and were healthy@@Hana.Behl-Lecter

[@justamangoddamn]

Even snakes are at risk for being shot by police.

[@melissahill8487]

Good one 👍🏾

[@ovs4744]

White people still have the highest risk tho

[@Whocares282]

As the saying goes…. Never trust a snake 🤔

[@jtbowman132]

Literally, if you have a pulse, you are not safe from getting shot by the police at this point, lol

[@diosydinero]

@@jtbowman132 nah really, they will even shoot your dogs for no reason

[@jonathanstroud2834]

They should be held accountable for this. You can't just say "Sorry, my bad".

[@Vtw2016]

This is horrible. I’m glad they are going over regulations in hopes to not make it again. I’m curious, why would they have this boa housed with the ones they were going to euthanize? Preventative measures are put in place because human error is a real thing. No matter your education and experience.

[@itsintheword230]

It's a smear campaign on police. If the owner wasn't having the snakes euthanized in the 1st place all of them would have been alive today. this is a ridiculous story

[@Cavegeckosol]

Pregnant boas are not safe to move from one place to another. They risk internal tears and premature birth when moved that can be life threatening to them. They also need very specific temperatures to incubate their babies for about 6 months, so he probably wanted to keep her in the controlled building to keep her incubation on track.

[@diecirl6637]

As someone not super experienced with snakes I can tell you I would never mistake a boa for a reticulated python for more than a couple seconds nor would any other reptile person

[@CL-lo3xr]

​@@darkwurm8784 Discusting.

[@EeveelutionStorm]

They were threatened. The owner was told, if even ONE snake, didn't matter what, was missing from the warehouse, he was going to jail. The warehouse owner who was helping him store the excess pythons was the one who owned the boa. It was his friend. There was no way to move her.

[@Freyja386]

Sincere condolences to the owners, I hope those “officers” will have all the consequences for that massacre and “a mistake” which they deserve. Also don’t care about people in comments with 0 empathy and a confidence that killing whatever these people hate or dislike or are scared of is a way to deal with things nowadays. Adequate and normal humans won’t blame the owner and justify murderers, as this situation is just completely insane, violent and beyond morality

[@emonighteverything4827]

HOW DO YOU MIX UP A BOA AND A PYTHON AS A WILDLIFE OFFICER?!?!?

[@baara100]

Absolutely sickening

[@michaelmyers7425]

They did it on purpose. They only faked concern