In the News
On this page Outreach for Animals will share just a few news articles that show the results of having venomous snakes and large predators as pets.
If you have a verified story you would like to share with us and our visitors please send us the information.
13 FOOT BURMESE KILLS
OWNER
Based on a New York Times Report by David Herszenhorn.
According to the New York Times, 19-year old Grant Williams of 365 East 183rd Street Bronx died as the result of an attack by his 13 foot long Burmese Python which may have mistaken him as food.
The victim was found at about 1:30 PM on October 9th by a neighbor lying in a pool of blood with the snake coiled around his torso in the hallway of his apartment building. He was pronounced dead at Jacobi Medical Center. An ambulance crew removed the snake from the victim and it was taken to the Bronx Zoo.
According to the report Williams and his 17 year old brother Lamar purchased the snake at a local pet store known as Pet City about five months ago for $300.00.
Mon, December 15, 2003
Tiger kills boy
MILLERS CREEK, N.C. (AP) - A woman's 180 kilogram Bengal tiger fatally mauled her 10-year-old nephew after pulling him under a fence and into his cage, authorities said.
The boy, Clayton James Eller, was shoveling snow Sunday afternoon near the tiger's cage, an enclosure made of chain link fence that had an opening at the bottom so the family's dog could go in and play, officials said. "This little boy got too close, and it pulled him under the fence," Coroner Howard Laney said.
The boy's uncle, James Marshall Eller, heard Clayton scream and saw it dragging the boy into its cage. Sheriff Dane Mastin said Eller tried in vain to get the tiger off the boy, then ran and got his gun and shot the tiger to death. But it was too late to save the boy.
The boy's mother, Angela Eller, had left the boy in the care of her sister Ruth Bynum, the tiger's owner, while she went to work, Mastin said. James Eller is the brother of the two women.
Mastin said he wasn't aware of any previous complaints about the tiger.
Tiger Kills Teenage Girl In Kansas
MOUND VALLEY, Kan. Aug. 18, 2005
(AP)
"This animal had been around people across the country and there's never been a problem." Labette County Sheriff William Blundell
(AP) A Siberian tiger attacked and killed a teenage girl who was posing for a picture at an animal sanctuary Thursday morning, authorities said. The Labette County Sheriff's office identified the victim as Haley R. Hilderbrand, 17, of Altamont. A release said Hilderbrand was at the Lost Creek Animal Sanctuary posing for a photo with the 7-year-old tiger, which was being restrained by its handler, when the animal turned and attacked her. Officers and handlers killed the animal. Emergency personnel were not able to revive Hilderbrand, who was later pronounced dead at the scene. Investigators have sent the tiger's body to Kansas State University for dissection. "This animal had been around people across the country and there's never been a problem," Sheriff William Blundell said in a telephone interview. Keith Hilderbrand, Haley's uncle, said the family wasn't making any statements at this time. Doug Billingsly and his family opened the 80-acre sanctuary in 1994. According to the sanctuary's Web site, the sanctuary has lions, leopards, bears, white tigers and even a liger, a rare cross between a lion and a tiger. The Web site also says the sanctuary has an affiliated Animal Entertainment Productions, which trains animals for stage performances, movies, television shows and magic shows. Billingsly didn't immediately return a phone call for comment.
Boy Attacked By Tiger And Lion
MINNEAPOLIS, June 23, 2005
(Photo: AP / CBS)
"I don't think anyone should have them. Just because you're legal doesn't mean you're safe." Sheriff Michel Wetzel
AP) A 10-year-old boy was attacked and critically injured by a tiger and a lion that were among a dozen large animals kept by a businessman, authorities said. Russell LaLa of Royalton was injured Wednesday when he and his father visited Chuck Mock, who authorities say is the owner of 11 large cats and a bear. The boy was in critical condition Thursday at the Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis. Authorities said Mock opened the door of a cage and a tiger pushed its way out to attack the boy. When the owner was pulling off the tiger, a lion bit Russell, Morrison County Sheriff Michel Wetzel said. Mock, the owner of Best Buy Auto near Little Falls, did not immediately return telephone calls to his home and office Thursday. Wetzel said Mock has registered 12 animals with the state - 11 large cats and one bear. The sheriff said he thought Mock kept the animals as "a novelty." "I don't think anyone should have them," Wetzel said. "Just because you're legal doesn't mean you're safe."
