Do not kill or harm snakes

MOSSEL BAY NEWS - An injured male puffadder was brought to the Hartenbos Animal Hospital on Friday, 13 September. It had been maimed with a spade. Members of Mossel Bay Fire and Disaster Management brought in the snake.

X-rays were done and it was confirmed the snake's spine had been broken in several places. Because of this the snake had to be euthanised humanely.

Together with the maimed snake, another was brought to the hospital and fortunately it was not injured and could be set free in the veld. It had been found in the same place as the other snake.

It is inhumane and cruel to injure snakes. They experience pain just as acutely as any other animal.

Snakes form a vital part of the environment and food chain, eating rodents, frogs and other small animals.

The Animal Hospital issued an appeal on its facebook page that if people find snakes, they should not try to kill them. They should contact Fire and Disaster Management (044 606 5107 or 606 5121) so that the snake can be caught humanely and released in the wild. Firefighters are trained snake handlers. Catching snakes and releasing them is part of their role.

Alternatively contact snake handler Johan (Barrie) Barnard (071 178 6746) to catch and release the snake.

The puffadder that had to be euthanised at the Animal Hospital was anaesthetised prior to that so that it would keep still while being X-rayed.

The Animal Hospital shared its facebook post and photographs of the injured snake on the Snakes for South Africa facebook page and it had reached 25 000 by the time the Mossel Bay Advertiser went to press.

The X-ray of the snake showing the damaged spine.