Man feeds kitten to burmese python in UK

I took in a pregnant stray cat some years ago. She nested in my bedroom closet (instead of the "nest" I prepared for her in a spare room .. figures) and had her kittens there.

I also had my 7-ft RTB in my bedroom, in an old console TV that had been gutted and converted into an enclosure with a glass front and wooden back that was secured by wing nut screw thingys.

I came home from work when the kittens were 2 days old and found my snake had escaped (for the first, but not the last time) and had eaten 3 of the 5 kittens. The other two were dead, presumeably squashed and mother cat had bolted upstairs.

Fortunately snake had not left my bedroom closet so was easily returned to her enclosure. At first I was sad and upset, but then realized the snake actually did me a favor - I felt sorry for the mother cat, but really hadn't been looking forward to having to find homes for kittens. Problem solved and mother cat was spayed shortly after that.

The problem I have with that idiot was the "production" .. Santa Claus hat, Christmas music, video taping the whole thing just for the shock value perhaps. That, to me, is vile.

I came home from work when the kittens were 2 days old and found my snake had escaped (for the first, but not the last time) and had eaten 3 of the 5 kittens. The other two were dead, presumeably squashed and mother cat had bolted upstairs.

This is certainly very sad but I wouldn't blame you for it. The snake was being a snake and took prey on opportunity. I definitely agree with your last bit - the person who filmed the video was doing it for cruel enjoyment.

All this will do is result in more reptile bans.I do not agree with this video,i think it's sickening.I imagine when they do catch him and name him the law will be the least of his worries.

I didn't watch the video because I already have enough violent, sick, disturbing images in my head - some, like the one made a few years ago of those islamic buttheads decapitating that poor guy, snuck in there when somebody showed me the video before I knew what it was all about. The average 8-year-old child in this country will have witnessed something like 8,000 murders on TV, and some 200,000 violent acts committed against a fellow human being by the time they are 18. From all the previous posts, I agree with Joe C. the most. Also, the guy who made that video probably would not hesitate to kill a child if he thought he could get away with it, at least that is what some studies have shown.
If he wanted to feed a kitten to his snake, I would not have a real problem with it if he did a quick occipital dislocation first. This, gassing with carbon dioxide, or injection with euthanasia formula (thus rendering it inedible) are the only legal ways to euthanitize an animal, according to one of my veterinarian friends. All other ways are considered inhumane, and are therefore illegal in the US. Now I might be wrong since this is second-hand info, but it sounds reasonable to me, if one is not a psychopath, one would not enjoy seeing the suffering of ANY animal.
Very recently, we went to raising our own chicks for food for our Drymarchons. The first chick neck I had to snap was very difficult, to say the least, but after I got it down pat (they are a little tougher than one might think), it has gotten to the point where I can dispatch them quickly and humanely, and they never knew what happened. It isn't my favorite task, mind you, and right now there are about 10 of them that are probably a little older than they should be, but eventually, they too will go into the deepfreeze after a quick pinch at the base of their skull. Does this mean I would want to shoot a video of it? No way - not unless it was an instructional video that would eventually prevent people from killing them in a way that was not humane.
I know I didn't get to choose to be born a human being any more than rats got to choose to be born rats, cats got to choose to be born cats, or itty-bitty spiders got to choose to be hatched into spiderlings; so I figure the least I can do in this 'esteemed' position in the hierarchy of things on this planet is to treat those who were less fortunate than me with the dignity and respect they deserve as fellow living beings. If I decide to kill one of them, it had better be quick and clean, with as little suffering as possible, otherwise, I have just abused my position in said hierarchy, and there are ways that can be dealt with. Ever see a tiger eat a human being? I've had friends of both species that know what that is like. One can only hope the dork that made that video decides to take a vacation in the jungles of Cambodia, or somewhere thereabouts. Maybe he can go hunting for some WC python genes, and ironically meet up with that little kitten's distant cousin. Hope he is wearing his Santa hat!

What is the difference between that guy feeding the kitten to a python and humans euthinizing hundreds and even thousands of kittens?

I know in some countries, they eat cats and dogs. Animals don't go to waste over there like they do here in the USA.

just sayin... and NO. I do not plan on eating a cat and dog. I still have a job and can still afford chickens and pigs and cows or parts thereof and perhaps the annual turkey

Originally Posted by HerpVenue

What is the difference between that guy feeding the kitten to a python and humans euthinizing hundreds and even thousands of kittens?

to quote myself: "he knows doing this would elicit an emotional outcry from people, he put the kitten in a santa hat... he distracted it so it was not aware there was a predator nearby. He was IMO doing it only to be cruel."

Humans euthanizing in shelters is (hopefully) done in a quick and humane way with minimum amount of suffering. When one of my cats was put down back in the day, it was over in seconds.

Originally Posted by AbsoluteApril

to quote myself: "he knows doing this would elicit an emotional outcry from people, he put the kitten in a santa hat... he distracted it so it was not aware there was a predator nearby. He was IMO doing it only to be cruel."

Humans euthanizing in shelters is (hopefully) done in a quick and humane way with minimum amount of suffering. When one of my cats was put down back in the day, it was over in seconds.

The guy was indeed very cruel, and would not surprise me one bit if he ever decides to harm a child. However, what is done in shelters is sometimes not much better than being constricted by a python. Just to give you a picture of what goes on in the 'humane society' in Gainesville, Florida, I did some volunteer work there one summer back in 1997, and the way they euthanatize puppies and kittens is an intracardial injection because it is faster than finding a vein. It is not painless by any stretch of the imagination. They have such a huge number of animals to put down, so I doubt much has changed in the past, but hopefully it has. Seems to me carbon dioxide gas would be a better way to put down large numbers of animals quickly and painlessly. I've seen that done before, and rather than panicking, like one would expect when something is denied oxygen, they actually calm down to conserve energy/oxygen, then basically go to sleep. Another option would be intraperitoneal injection since it is basically only piercing the skin as in a subcutaneous injection, but the solution goes into the peritoneum, and works almost as fast as an IM injection, but not as fast as intravenous. The main thing is it is a lot less painless than piercing the heart. So to answer your hopefulness, no, the death the animals experience in shelters is not painless in probably a lot more instances than one would hope.

I think if some shelter volunteers videotaped themselves stabbing kittens and puppies in the heart with a needle to put them down, it would garner the same negative reaction and outcry. Especially if they put the animals in santa hats first.

It's unfortunate that those shelters are operating that way, but they aren't publicizing it to hurt others. No doubt, they should be taught a better way to euthanize their animals though.

The topic at hand can be broken down into 3 distinct viewpoints:

1. Feeding "pet" style animals, to other animals, should be frowned upon because the person is sick and twisted. Frankly, that is playing into the outlook that most have discriminating against snakes/reptiles. "Pet" is placed in quotations because it is entirely culturally/personally relative. What the western world sees as a "pet", others may see as food or, simply, not as a pet. This occurs within the USA as well. We can agree that most folks do NOT consider reptiles as "pets". We fight to get that label mainstreamed. Not feeding my snakes is abuse, but feeding them is abuse too? I am confused. ( I do not keep large constrictors btw)

2. Broadcasting feeding should be minimized. From a tact/political standpoint, this is probably wise. Mainstream folks do not relish the idea of any live animal being constricted to death.

3. Finally, the viewpoint that believes feeding an animal (chose one) that is not stolen or needlessly tortured is to be chosen by the animal wishing to eat. Will they eat a cat? Feed them a cat, so long as you are not kicking in your sisters door to get it. She has deemed it a "pet", in the same way you have deemed your snake a "pet". That would be a moral infraction due to the constructs of your sister. If it is a cat expressly or inadvertently bred, that has no known owner with emotional investment; feed on.

I was floored to see that snake keepers were outraged (I have not seen the video, I am speaking from a general "cat feeding" standpoint) that a cat was fed to a snake.

I make a distinction between humans and animals. The worth of a snake is the same as the worth of a chimp, or rabbit, or scorpion. The worth of my snakes is only increased due to my emotional input into their well being. I place that well-being above that of rodents. Is that criminal? Needless death is not warranted; but death may, in fact, be not only needed, but morally kosher.

He likes Aladdin and he named his kitty Jasmine? How sad. I wonder if his snake's name is Jafar.

Different people have different views on animals and feeding animals to animals as well as what consitutes an animal, or a pet, to put it differently... Personally, I no longer own snakes or other creatures that need to eat anything beyond bugs, eggs, or fish, because I valued the prey just as much as the predator. I also value some types of fish and bugs above others; I have no problem killing a fly but could never kill an Io moth. I could feed my garter a minnow but could never feed it a betta fish.

I have a cat and I love cats. I love snakes too, and while I would never own a python for the SINGLE reason that I don't have the heart to feed it, I still recognise and respect the fact that SNAKES MUST EAT. Whether the kitty activists believe in a creator or not, they cannot deny that snakes were put on this earth for a reason, and they are engineered to eat small mammals. Kitties and bunnies and cute woodland creatures definitely fit that bill. However, the fact that this kitten was alive and conscious, and that he distracted it so it didn't even have a chance, not to mention the fact that it obviously suffered (since its cries could be heard).... Obviously he was shooting this video to be a jerk, and obviously he has some mental issues that need addressing / correcting, but I just can't wrap my mind around the fact that he tricked the kitten like that. I have a very unconventional view of animals, owing partially to the fact that I am an autistic teenaged girl, and I believe that animals can 'think' to some degree. I think the kitten was thinking: "Why aren't you helping me?! You're supposed to look after me!" ............Well, you can easily see why I don't keep snakes anymore. It's just the way my brain works... I don't expect others to adopt the same (unusual) point of view.