The litter of babies likely included rare color morphs known as “Red Dragon” and “Blood Albino,” some of which are known to sell for $5000 to $7500 each. The value of the baby boas in the reptile hobby is estimated at potentially over $100,000. Alfonso referred us to page 92 of the AVMA Euthanasia Guidelines here. The AVMA lists bolt guns and pithing as a secondary method when nothing else is safe or possible on captive reptiles. He added, “There is no excuse for using the bolt gun method on pet snakes or pets of any species. If actually necessary, this should have been conducted by a licensed veterinarian or properly-trained veterinary health professional,” said Alfonso. Being pets, these animals should have been afforded the pet euthanasia method which involves chemical immobilization or sedation and then chemical euthanasia. Even if they had been wild, using just the bolt gun was only one step in the euthanasia method. “Euthanasia guidelines provided by the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) clearly distinguish between ‘in the field’ euthanasia methods versus pet euthanasia methods.
Ivan Alfonso DVM, even the field methods FWC describes on its website were not adequate in this case. The officers in this case followed only one of two of those steps.įreedoms in Florida Dwindle As FWC Slaughters Pet Boa And 34 Other Snakes On Holy ThursdayĪccording to veterinarian Dr. This process involves applying the bolt charge to the head, followed by the complete destruction of the brain by pithing. FWC’s own website describes a two-step euthanasia process for wild pythons. In the video of the incident recorded by Coffee, officers can be seen yanking snakes out of cages, administering a bolt charge to the head, and then leaving the snakes writhing on the floor or throwing them into trash cans. Many have questioned FWC’s dispatching technique on these snakes. See video on the killing of Big Shirl the Boa and her subsequent necropsy on the USARK FL YouTube channel Contrary to some media reports, the Reticulated python is not an invasive species in Florida. USARK FL is currently in a lawsuit with FWC challenging validity and constitutionality of these rules and has asked for FWC to stop seizing and euthanizing captive animals until this legal challenge is resolved. As a matter of law, they should have been grandfathered without condition. USARK FL maintains that none of the pythons in this case should have been killed because they were legally owned prior to the administrative rule change. After contacting FWC to ask for help, officers executed a constructive seizure on the snakes in February 2022 which forced Coffee to feed and care for the animals until FWC took final action, which did not occur until Apwhen the animals were killed by officers. Coffee was unable to rehome some of his snakes within the arbitrary 90-day time period allowed by FWC after the ban passed in 2021. FWC considers those python species to be “Prohibited” under rules passed in 2021. Photo by Chris Nettles.ĭuring the Holy Thursday Massacre, FWC officers also killed 29 Reticulated pythons and five Burmese pythons owned by Chris Coffee. In addition to slaying Big Shirl, 34 pythons were executed.Ī necropsy revealed 32 boa constrictor babies. Boas give birth to live young rather than laying eggs like many other snakes. A necropsy has revealed that Big Shirl was carrying 32 babies which were only a few weeks away from being born. Big Shirl was a beloved pet Boa constrictor, a species of snake that is docile under human care and commonly kept as pets. Regardless of how you may feel about the types of animals involved, none of the Holy Thursday Massacre was necessary and there was no urgency surrounding this event. Before reading on, take pause and let it sink in that a healthy, legally owned pet was carelessly destroyed. Video of the incident shows the animal writhing on the floor for more than 20 minutes after the FWC officers administered a single bolt charge to the head. This butchery was part of an event which has become known as the “Holy Thursday Massacre” and it happened at Bill McAdam’s animal facility in Sunrise, FL in Broward County. Big Shirl was raised from birth for over ten years by Bill McAdam. A pregnant pet named Big Shirl was inhumanely and unnecessarily slaughtered by Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) Law Enforcement Officers on April 6.
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