http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.d...EWS01/70822016
THE ENQUIRER Cincinnati, Ohio
Boy kills snake on festival display
BY RACHEL RICHARDSON |
RRICHARDSON@ENQUIRER.COM
Scott Braunstein is used to the fearful reaction his large snakes and reptiles elicit as he makes educational presentations at local festivals, libraries and schools.
But he was unprepared for the violent actions of a boy at the St. Bernadette Festival in Pierce Township on Sunday.
According to the snake handler, the boy approached Popcorn, a 10-foot, non-poisonous Albino Burmese Python, and told Braunstein he hated snakes.
“The next thing I know … the kid raises his leg and stomps down on the snake’s head,” said Braunstein. “The snake started convulsing.”
Braunstein said he saw a man he believed to be the boy’s father grab the child, and heard him say “This is why I don’t take you anywhere,” before disappearing into the crowd.
Braunstein said he tended to the snake rather than pursuing the pair.
Popcorn died from the blow, which severed its spine at the base of its skull, he said.
“I’ve never, never had anything like that happen,” said Braunstein, who operates House of Reptiles, an educational facility based in Dry Ridge, Ky.
A former Pizza Hut manager, Braunstein turned his love of reptiles into a full-time job. His collection includes alligators, lizards, spiders and frogs. For two years, Braunstein’s reptiles have been featured in a festival petting zoo operated by Amelia-based All Creatures Animal Hospital.
“Scott’s business is to educate people about reptiles, and his goal is for people to learn to appreciate rather than fear the reptiles that share this planet with us,” said hospital founder Dr. Dan Meakin.
Braunstein and Meakin said they are especially concerned by a child attacking the snake.
“We need to educate the public more and more so they understand these animals are not evil,” Braunstein said.
For more information on reptiles, visit
www.houseofreptiles.150m.com or the Greater Cincinnati Herpetological Society at
www.cincyherps.com.
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