A young man has been filmed taking his pet parrot and python for an afternoon stroll down a street.
The video was taken by TikTok user Hayley Roben, who was sitting at a red light with friends when she spotted the man on the pavement.
A bright yellow parrot is perched on the man’s shoulder, while he nonchalantly swings the python from hand to hand.
A bright yellow parrot is perched on the man’s shoulder while he holds the gigantic python
Passengers in the car can be heard reacting to the bizarre threesome between bursts of laughter.
‘Are you kidding me. Look at him, he’s having the best time’, one passenger says.
An audible gasp can be heard as the man casually drops the snake onto the concrete so he can hit the pedestrian button.
‘You are joking,’ another passenger says, as the man picks up the python by the end of its tail and dangles the reptile upside down.
The man casually places the snake on the concrete so he can hit the pedestrian button
The man calmly checks his phone as he waits for the lights to change, still holding the snake vertically.
‘Surely that’s illegal’, a passenger says.
The video has received over 40,000 ‘likes’ with nearly 1000 comments with users divided over the treatment of the snake.
One user said they had owned snakes and reptiles all their life and condoned the man’s handling of the snake.
A concerned viewer noticed the snake didn’t move when the man puts it down, saying the snake was probably in shock or half dead
‘That python looks healthy and 100 per cent gets better care then what you give your own offspring,’ they said.
However many more TikTok users expressed their concern for the python’s welfare.
Multiple users said they had seen the man walking his animals on streets in Windsor, a historic town north-west of Sydney.
‘Please don’t think its okay to handle a poor danger noodle like this’, one said.
The man looks at his phone as he waits for the traffic lights to change, dangling the python upside down
‘It’s not even a danger noodle, it’s a harmless carpet python, poor baby’, another replied.
‘Instead of filming and laughing, you could call the RSPCA’, another user commented.
‘I really think the snake isn’t feeling too well. Doesn’t even move when he puts it down, it’s probably in shock or half dead’, another shared.
A snake handler from the Gold Coast Snake Catchers, said the snake was more than likely a pet Jungle Carpet Python.
Jungle Carpet Pythons (pictured) are non-venomous to humans and have a generally calm temperament making them popular as pets
‘Though captive snakes can be very tame to handle they are prone to stress and deserve respect like any other animal,’ they said.
The handler pointed out that in Queensland, as is the law in New South Wales, it is illegal to take a pet snake anywhere beyond the boundaries of your property.
Snake owners need to seek approval from the Department of Environment, with large penalties applying for those who ignore these regulations, the handler said.
Another snake handler from OzCapture Snake Relocations said the man’s actions were ‘very illegal’ and said they were ‘lost for words’ after watching the video.
A RSPCA spokesperson said they haven’t received any calls about the python, but confirmed that snakes needed to be kept indoors and inside an enclosure.
As for the parrot, the spokesperson said as long as it’s wings were clipped, the owner could take the bird out of the home.
Daily Mail Australia is not suggesting the man broke the law.
source: dailymail.co.uk
