'When will people learn?': Warning after factory worker stomps on 'harmless' snake
A Queensland reptile catcher has shared a heartfelt warning begging others not to try and kill snakes after a factory worker fatally stomped on a “harmless” species.
“When will people learn?” Sunshine Coast snake expert Stuart McKenzie said alongside a picture of a dead snake on Facebook on Wednesday.
“A factory worker spotted this snake cruising along near some other staff members and rather than letting them know it was there and getting everybody to move away from the snake he decided to go stomp on its head a few times,” he wrote.
“He thought he was protecting his fellow staff members by doing this. He wasn’t.”
Aside from breaking the law, as killing snakes is illegal in Australia, the worker put himself and his fellow staff members in further danger, Mr Mckenzie said on The Snake Catcher 24/7 Sunshine Coast Facebook page.
“The snake was minding his own business and was just passing through and wasn’t going to hurt anyone,” he said.
“It ended up being a harmless keelback. If this had of been an Eastern Brown snake he probably would have been bitten and would be in hospital right now,” Mr McKenzie added.
The snake died due to his severe injuries shortly after the catcher arrived.
Killing snakes to protect others does more harm than good
“I regularly hear people say that if there was a snake on their property they would kill it to protect their family. You are in fact doing the opposite,” Mr McKenzie wrote.
If people want to protect their families, he advised to walk away from the snake and move everyone inside, then either call a snake catcher or wait for the snake to move on.
“If the snake is inside then keep an eye on it from a safe distance and call a snake catcher. It’s pretty simple,” he added.
“Snakes will NOT chase you. Give them some distance and respect and you wont have a drama with them.”
Snake catchers urge others to leave it to the experts
The keelback’s death comes just a week after Mr McKenzie warned would-be snake handlers to leave it to the professionals after a man came close to being bitten when he picked up a deadly brown snake on his property.
Earlier this month a Noosa nurse was reprimanded for “trying to be a hero” when he was bitten trying to catch a deadly red-bellied black snake that slithered through an aged care home.
Last month Mr McKenzie shared a confronting video of a baby reptile reeling in pain before it had to be euthanised, as the reptile expert begged others not to use pest spray on the creatures.
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