Snakes on a lane: Cops get 'off the scale shock' as they encounter giant boa constrictor while on patrol
19 June 2023, 06:40
A group of police officers were left shocked after they encountered a giant boa constrictor while out on patrol.
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The snake was rescued from the middle of a busy road by police in Birmingham over the weekend.
West Midlands Police said their officers were driving on patrol when they spotted the huge snake slithering across the street on Park Lane, on Saturday.
The shocked officers used a pillowcase and a broom to bag the reptile.
The constrictor, which can grow up to 10ft (3m) in length, was taken to a local reptile shop where it was checked over and found to be uninjured.
The identity of the snake’s owner is not known, and it is not known how it escaped from its home or came to be beside the road.
It will remain with Birmingham Reptiles until it is claimed or rehomed.
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A West Midlands Police spokesman said: “We often have to deal with the odd slippery customer, but officers got an off-the-scale shock when they encountered a boa constrictor in the middle of a busy Birmingham road.
“Officers from our operational support unit were driving down Park Lane yesterday [Saturday] afternoon when they spotted the large snake moving across the road.
“But they soon had the situation in the bag as they gently manoeuvred the creature into a pillowcase before taking it for checks at a local reptile centre.
“Staff at Birmingham Reptiles confirmed that the common boa constrictor had come to no harm and they’ll be looking after it until its owner claims it or it’s rehomed.”
It is not the first time a boa constrictor has been discovered in public this year.
A 5ft-long boa constrictor was rescued by the RSPCA in May after being found by a member of the public in a southwest London park.
The reptile needed urgent medical treatment owing to breathing problems and ulcers. The RSPCA warned that it was seeing widespread neglect of exotic animals, and that these creatures are sometimes abandoned by owners who find them too burdensome to look after.
