A snake owner dumped his three royal pythons in a bin outside a school – after he ‘snapped’ when he saw the electricity bill to heat their tanks, a court heard.
Samuel Newton, 35, stuffed the 5ft-long snakes into carrier bags before driving to the secondary school and abandoning them in a bin at 9am.
He hoped that because it was a public place, the reptiles would soon be found.
Snake owner Samuel Newton, 35, dumped his three royal pythons in a bin outside a school – after he ‘snapped’ when he saw the electricity bill to heat their tanks, a court heard
Newton stuffed the 5ft-long snakes into carrier bags before driving to the secondary school and abandoning them in a bin at 9am
Two were recovered by a snake expert after a member of the public raised the alarm at 3.15pm.
But the third was not found until the following day in a nearby grassy area outside St Augustine’s secondary in Scarborough, North Yorkshire. The snakes were unharmed.
Pythons are not venomous, but kill small prey by asphyxiation, the court was told.
Magistrate Alan Kay said: ‘It is the manner in which they were deposited outside a school which to us is a concern.
‘Imagine a child coming across a 5ft snake. They would not be comfortable with the situation.’
Two were recovered by a snake expert after a member of the public raised the alarm at 3.15pm. But the third was not found until the following day in a nearby grassy area outside St Augustine’s secondary in Scarborough, North Yorkshire
Prosecutor Martin Butterworth said it was an aggravating feature that the offence took place on a school day on June 29.
He added: ‘It was the fact it was next to a school and one of the snakes appears to have got out of the bin before the other had been seen and remained in the locality – fortunately, not in the school playground.’
Newton came forward following an appeal by the police. He initially claimed he had asked a friend to take the snakes to a pet shop but later confessed.
Ian Brickman, defending, said: ‘This is a person of impeccably good character. He has had the snakes for five or six years and kept them in the appropriate vivariums.
At the time of the offence, things had really got on top of him.’
Despite working long hours in a shop, he was taking home only £1,000 a month and was responsible for all the energy bills, the court was told.
Newton came forward following an appeal by the police, he had initially claimed he had asked a friend to take the snakes to a pet shop but later confessed
‘He was struggling to provide the snakes with the time needed for their care and struggling with the cost of heating,’ Mr Brickman said. ‘He says he simply snapped.’
Newton, from Scarborough, admitted abandoning the snakes – an offence under the Animal Welfare Act.
He was fined £384 with a £154 surcharge and £84 costs. He was also banned from keeping reptiles for seven years.