Snake Used As Face Mask On Bus (Animal Story 19)
By M.-L.
@MALUSE (69413)
Germany
November 26, 2020 3:29pm CST
It happened in Swinton, a town within the city of Salford in Greater Manchester, England, on September 14th, that a man entered a bus with a large reptile wound round his neck. I'm not an expert when it comes to defining reptiles but from the photo which was shown in Manchester Evening News I'd guess that it was a boa constrictor.
Now, in the age of face masks, a passenger said that he had thought at first that the man had chosen "a really funky one". Another passenger mentioned that no one was really bothered and that the sight was "definitely entertaining". A woman mentioned that "No-one batted an eyelid." Someone took a video of the incident.
Yet, not everyone was amused when the man removed the snake from his neck and let it crawl round the hand rails.
No other reactions of the passengers are mentioned in the newspaper article I've found on the net. I find this unbelievable! What do British members think about this? Is this normal or an exception? A widespread assumption is that Brits rarely suffer from outbursts of temperament. Do we have a situation here which confirms this assumption as being the truth?
Transport bosses in Greater Manchester confirmed that "a snake is not a valid face covering." I can't believe it! More matter-of-factness is not possible.
I can imagine hysterical scenes, someone calling the police, mayhem breaking out in other countries!
The question arises why the bus driver had allowed the man to get on the bus in the first place and/or why he didn't stop the bus and made him get off when he let the snake crawl round the rails.
At least the peeps from the bus company seemed to be concerned when they learnt what had happened. They took the incident seriously, said that they were shocked and promised to investigate the case which would include checking the CCTV and interviewing the bus driver.
This is the end of *my* post. I don't live in England and haven't found a sequel of the story which I could retell here. Maybe an English member can help me write a finishing paragraph enlightening me and other members on the questions:
- Why did the man travel with a snake on a bus at all?
- What happened to him? Was he fined for causing public nuisance and cruelty to animals?
- What happened to the snake? Was the man allowed to keep it or was it given to a zoo?
Photo: Alison Jones
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31 people like this
33 responses
@xFiacre (12597)
• Ireland
28 Nov 20
@maluse @ladyduck Salford is the area of Manchester in which I usually stay on my regular visits to the city. This man is obviously mentally deficient and in need of psychiatric help, taking a wild beast on public transport. Had I been on the bus everyone would have been left in no doubt about my feelings on the subject. It’s not ok to act in this way. I have difficulty even looking at a picture of a snake and don’t even like mentioning them. On a tram in Salford last time I was there just before lockdown a malevolent looking thug boarded with a decrepit pit bull terrier that looked about to expire. It suddenly expelled the most foul smelling wind I have ever experienced. People moved away and I had to get off the tram and wait for the next one such was the potency of the canine wind.
5 people like this
@LadyDuck (458230)
• Switzerland
29 Nov 20
@xFiacre You know that I also cannot even look at a snake on a picture, I would have jumped out of the bus for sure. I am uncomfortable even with dogs on public transport, you never know how they can react. Some frail people have big dogs, they will be absolutely unable to stop them should they decide to attack someone.
2 people like this
@LadyDuck (458230)
• Switzerland
27 Nov 20
I cannot believe that the man was allowed on the bus with a snake... not even cats and dogs are allowed on a bus if not in their "carrier bags". I am sure the bus driver would have not let the man in and called immediately the police (you need a special license to own a boa constrictor).
3 people like this
@MALUSE (69413)
• Germany
27 Nov 20
@lovebuglena This is what puzzles me, too. I'm sure that a German bus driver would have problems with the bus company if he allowed a snake to get onto the bus.
3 people like this
@florelway (23153)
• Cagayan De Oro, Philippines
26 Nov 20
If that happens in my country the police will definitely go after the man. Public alarm and scandal is punishable.
3 people like this
@Hate2Iron (15730)
• Canada
4 Dec 20
I don't think that I would stay on the bus long enough to find out if it was real or not!
1 person likes this
@garymarsh6 (23393)
• United Kingdom
13 Dec 20
I can assure you had l been on the bus l would have reported it to the police and asked them to arrest him for public nuisance and cruelty to animals. You are correct it is a boa constrictor. How do l know? My father had two he did some research for the World Wide Life Fund for animals and studied them for several years. We had them during the 1970's where there were frequent power cuts during one of the winters. We had to boil up hot water to fill water bottles wrap them in blankets and place them around the glass Vivarium to keep them warm. It did not matter a jot that we were freezing but had to keep the two snakes warm!!
This is not normal behaviour. Many people get snakes as pets when they become too big and they can not handle them they release them in the wild. They would die in our climate but Florida is rife with Burmese pythons. I hate snakes with a passion!
1 person likes this
@MALUSE (69413)
• Germany
13 Dec 20
@garymarsh6 If you still have access to the photo, you could add this to your post!
1 person likes this
@garymarsh6 (23393)
• United Kingdom
13 Dec 20
@MALUSE They went to a zoo. The female was 9 foot long (3m) and the male 8! Funnily enough although l have no photos of the snake l do have an X-ray. They X-Rayed the snake at the hospital to check it was not related to some lung condition my father had! Interestingly you could see the mouse inside it 2 days after ingesting it! They were always fed on a Saturday and were X-Rayed on the Monday!
@Fleura (29126)
• United Kingdom
26 Nov 20
Well here I am in the UK and yes I confess that if someone got on a bus with a snake around their neck I wouldn't comment on it. I would assume it was their pet and thus was safe to be near.
I don't know if there are any rules covering specific animals on buses. Dogs are allowed, that's all I know. Also there is nothing banning the keeping of snakes as pets. And carrying your pet snake is hardly animal cruelty. I don't think he has done anything wrong!
I'm surprised at you implying that in Germany such an incident would cause uproar - I always thought of Germans as being fairly staid and unflappable too!
2 people like this
@MALUSE (69413)
• Germany
26 Nov 20
I like the sound of unflappable. I had to look the word up. I'm sure that I've never seen it before in the 65 years I've occupied myself with English.
Well, no, unflappable is not a term I'd use to describe the German version of the man on the Clapham bus. (I've found this expression in the dictionary. It's funny. Does one really say that? Why 'Clapham'? I've been to Clapham. In fact, it was the underground station I used for two months when I stayed in London as a student and attended a language course. I haven't noticed anything special there.)
'Uproar' is perhaps too much. But a snake round someone's neck in a means of public transportation would certainly cause a reaction - at least from the driver who'd maybe refuse to take the man with him!
2 people like this
@Deepizzaguy (94581)
• Lake Charles, Louisiana
26 Nov 20
I know I would freak out if I saw a snake around the neck of any person riding a bus.
1 person likes this
@jobelbojel (34729)
• Philippines
17 Dec 20
He could have been stopped from riding a bus with the reptile on his neck.
@jobelbojel (34729)
• Philippines
17 Dec 20
@MALUSE or yes, he should have stopped and put the snake in a cage or bag.
@BelleStarr (61047)
• United States
27 Nov 20
I would have had a little problem with that if I was one of the other passengers.
@LindaOHio (156271)
• United States
27 Nov 20
I doubt that the snake would bother me much; but he certainly should not have been on public transportation.
@lovebuglena (43080)
• Staten Island, New York
27 Nov 20
I would leave the bus if someone entered with a huge snake.
1 person likes this
