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Woman Charged After Cobra-Biting Claim
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by tigers9 on February 2, 2010
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http://www.wbaltv.com/news/22414107/detail.html
Woman Charged After Cobra-Biting Claim
Police Found Dangerous Rattlesnake At Her Home
POSTED: 4:49 pm EST February 2, 2010
UPDATED: 5:36 pm EST February 2, 2010
BALTIMORE -- Police with the Department of Natural Resources have charged a woman with possession of a venomous snake after she recently claimed she was bitten by one.
Last month, 58-year-old Betsy Nighthorse claimed she was bitten by a cobra that she discovered in a White Marsh parking lot.
Police investigating her claim found another snake -- a Neo Tropical Rattlesnake -- at her home in Hydes. The snake was about 4 feet long and 4 inches in diameter.
The rattlesnake was taken to the Catoctin Mountain Zoo in Thurmont, as was the cobra.
Nighthorse is due in court in April. She could get a $1,000 for each count.
Previous Stories:
• January 26, 2010: Woman Bitten By Cobra Bags Snake, Takes To Docs
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RE: Woman Charged After Cobra-Biting Claim
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by venomrob on February 2, 2010
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So after the "cobra bite", she was gonna get bit by this one too in a month? How far are these AR people gonna go to get "their ways". Thats my guess and opinion.
Rob
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RE: Woman Charged After Cobra-Biting Claim
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by tj on February 3, 2010
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"So after the "cobra bite", she was gonna get bit by this one too in a month? How far are these AR people gonna go to get "their ways"."
Yeah, everything these days are the AR activist's and politician's faults, huh? Because we all know there are no irresponsible keepers or dealers out there...
Where did the info come out that this person was actually an animal rights activist? If there is some info, please feel free to divulge and I'll gladly eat some humble pie.
I'm not a fan of politicians or activists, but at some point reality is going to have to kick in with some people in here and in the hot community. If anyone thinks this is anything but another irresponsible keeper, then keep sitting back doing nothing and enjoy what little time you have left of the hobby.....but make sure in the meantime you sit on your butts bitching, while people like Z and Andrew do all the work for YOUR hobby. I quit writing letters to fight legislation for people who don't want to help themselves. It's the same BS over and over and has been for years. People complaining about this group and that group and this bill and that bill. Nothing has changed, nor will it....except your "right" to keep venomous and large constrictors.
Keep giving them ammo, it's what they want.
Sorry for the rant, Chris and Karl.
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RE: Woman Charged After Cobra-Biting Claim
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by Rob_Carmichael on February 3, 2010
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People jump on stories before getting all of the facts straight; that's human nature. We assume it's AR driven when in fact, as the last post mentioned (and it would be great to have a name attached to that person who posted), we have plenty of bad seeds in our hobby who do as much, if not far more, damage than AR folks. Num nuts run rampant in our hobby, particularly venomous, and we tend to point fingers at everyone else except ourselves. We'll be getting a lot more info about this case in the near future. It is too bad that there are responsible people who are fully capable of keeping hots and do keep them responsibly that live in areas who change the laws and then all of a sudden they are faced with very difficult decisions. It's just too bad we have laws that are so restrictive but it goes back to the bad apples...we almost need them to weed them out.
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RE: Woman Charged After Cobra-Biting Claim
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by Cro on February 3, 2010
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tj is right, this case has nothing to do with animal rights folks. I guess some people might have thought that, after the lady said she picked up the snake in a parking lot. That does sound a bit similar to the instances of a python turning up in a parking lot in Florida, exactly at the same time the folks were meeting about the python bill. And, there was an instance in NC where a venomous snake (I think it was a cobra)turned up in a parking lot.
However, in this case, it appears that the lady was just a herper who was keeping a couple of animals as pets, and managed to get bitten by one of them. Because she lived in a state where keeping that cobra was illegal, she invented the snake in the parking lot story. Unfortunate it turned out to be a poorly though out story, due to the very cold weather in that area, would have quickly frozen any cobra that was out and about.
The lady received 9 vials of antivenin, so, the bite was real, and not a made up story. From what I hear, both of the animals she was keeping were fat and healthy and well cared for.
Folks should be careful to avoid quickly jumping to conclusions based on news paper or TV reports. The things are notorious for being inaccurate at best, and deliberately biased all too often.
Best Regards
John Z
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RE: Woman Charged After Cobra-Biting Claim
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by FSB on February 3, 2010
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While I do not doubt the existence of animal rights extremists who will resort to almost anything, including domestic terrorism, to promote their misguided agendas, I seriously doubt that any of them are crazy enough to allow themselves to be bitten by a venomous snake in order to create bad press for venomous keepers. [As the anonymous tj implies, venomous keepers are perfectly capable of generating bad press on their own, without any outside help]. This case is not an AR setup. The 58-year old woman in question is a school teacher who loves animals and simply demonstrated some extraordinarily bad judgement. In Maryland, possession of venomous snakes is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $1,000. No doubt, she also feared for her job [but if I were an employer, I would sooner fire someone for dishonesty than violating some ordinance]. She no doubt panicked and made up the story without much forethought, as has been said. I am helping take care of her snakes now [the rattlesnake is a C. durissus cumanensis of very ample girth] and it's obvious to me that this woman cared a great deal for her snakes, and took very good care of them. Spoiled 'em in fact. [The rattlesnake is so calm and quiet that I almost wonder if this woman didn't sit knitting with her coiled in her lap, a la Grace Wiley and Miss Kitty]. I was angry when we first received the cobra and heard the parking lot story, since I knew it couldn't possibly be true, yet most of the average joes out there would buy it since they're ready to believe anything bad about snakes. Now it just makes me sad. The zoo obtained a large number of snakes and Heloderms about two years ago from another confiscation and our head curator, who went to the guy's house to collect them all, said they were immaculately kept in nice, safely locked cages with feeding records and first-rate equipment all around. It made him feel really bad to take the animals.
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RE: Woman Charged After Cobra-Biting Claim
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by FSB on February 3, 2010
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[cont.] I know that Rob had a similar experience in Illinois with the WDC. Thing is, these blanket laws end up punishing the wrong people. The real idiots who make trouble for us aren't really keepers at all. I saw enough of them bringing sadly abused reptiles into my brother's vet clinic in VA. They knew absolutely nothing about reptiles and just bought one on impulse. They had no interest in learning more about them either - they just wanted us to fix something they had irreparably messed up and then got irate if we told them it was too far gone and needed to be euthanized. And of course, they're not going to put any money into a snake. Then there are the dealers who sold it to them. In August I stood at a table in Hamburg covered in both North American and neo-tropical rattlesnakes, listening to the vendor tell this soccer-mom looking lady who was obviously sans clue, that if she got bitten by one of the native ones, it was basically no problem since there's this wonderful stuff called CroFab that is readily available. On the other hand, if she chose one of the neotropicals, it might be more of a hassle, but she could get antivenom from a zoo. These "money-lenders" need to be thrown out of the temple. Knowledgeable, experienced keepers need to step up and start policing this crap or someone else is going to start doing it for us [and they already have]. Anyone who is seen trying to sell venomous snakes to obviously inexperienced people should be outed, banned from any responsible shows, etc. and put out of business. Whatever it takes. Reptiles have been a defining part of who I am literally longer than I can remember. It wasn't a choice - I was born into a house full of them. I cannot imagine how dull and pointless life would be without them. There may not be a God-given "right" to keep and study reptiles, but it can be earned. Those who have earned it deserve to keep it, and pass their knowledge on to others.
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RE: Woman Charged After Cobra-Biting Claim
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by FSB on February 3, 2010
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PS - John, I think I remember the "parking lot" snake in NC being a Bothrops asper.
Also, how long is it going to be beffore someone keeping venomous snakes underground in a place like MD tries to sweat out a bite rather than seek medical attention?
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