World Record Snake Dies After Just Three Days in Captivity

An 8-meter-long python died just three days after being found and captured on a construction site in Penang, Malaysia. Shocking video footage shows the animal being kicked, stood on, and roughly handled by her captors. Three days later, she was dead.

Experts point out that the delicate animal’s sudden death was likely a result of internal injuries that she had sustained during or after her capture. When nooses are used on snakes, they can lead to broken bones and internal bleeding. Photos show the python with a noose around her neck as construction workers pose with their “catch.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OtuJ0z8pXjk

The snake was to be handed over to the Department of Wildlife and National Parks, where she no doubt would have lived out the rest of her days in an enclosure that didn’t come close to her natural rainforest home. She likely would have suffered the way Medusa—the 7.6-meter python who is used as nothing more than a moneymaking tool—currently does in Kansas, U.S., where she is held captive in a haunted house.

The snake was obviously extremely stressed as a result of having everything natural and important to her taken away, being mishandled by humans and passed around as a photo prop. She didn’t have to die like this.

Would-be Guinness World Record-breaking Penang python dies in captivity https://t.co/mOJEr4qX8Z pic.twitter.com/EhjhPeYCXz

— Malay Mail Online (@themmailonline) April 12, 2016

Reticulated pythons are typically solitary animals who are nonconfrontational. They are not venomous and rarely bite humans. Though only an official necropsy would be able to determine the cause of the snake’s death, one thing is clear: She—like every other animal—didn’t deserve to be kicked, manhandled, or passed around as a photo prop.

What You Can Do

Take the pledge to boycott all facilities that exploit animals for profit. As long as tickets are sold, animals will continue to be stolen from their homes for the purpose of making money. Please, never patronize zoos, aquariums, or any other animal exhibits in which animals are used as commodities to boost revenue.