Cretinous BBC press item

Walker bitten fending off snake

A dog owner who was bitten by a snake during a morning walk did not seek treatment until he collapsed at home.

Paramedics were called to the man's house in Canvey Island, Essex, at lunchtime.

He was taken to Southend Hospital for treatment after his condition had been stablised at the scene, said an Essex Ambulance Service spokesman.

It it believed the 29-year-old was bitten after his dog picked up an adder.

Emergency care practitioner Deena Duce said: "The man tried to get it away from his dog and was bitten by the snake in the process.

"He went home and it wasn't until this afternoon, when he stood up and then collapsed, that an ambulance was called.

"He was briefly unconscious, and his left arm and hand were very swollen and painful."


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I have written to them and pointed out that a headline such as "Out of control dog injures protected species" would be more appropriate. Perhaps more of us should do this.

As a matter of curiosity, if a dog owner does allow a dog to injure or kill an adder, is he/she liable to prosecution under the Wildlife and Countryside Act?

Cheers,

Wolfgang

I often see dogs rampaging along the edge of heathland tracks in exactly the places where adders like to bask. Most people I'm sure would never consider there might be adders lying out. As has been mentioned before on this forum noticeboards advising the presence of adders can have the negative effect of people going  along armed ready to kill any that are seen.

A friend's dog died of an adder bite 15 years ago and the poor dog did not have a quick and painless end.

I think the point is that the headline "Walker Bitten Fending Off Snake" gives a false impression that it was the adder that was behaving agressively not the dog. Doesn't it sound from the headline that the snake made the first move?

It would have been more useful if the BBC had taken the opportunity to highlight the non-agressive nature of the adder when left alone and given the public a little advice regarding the under used device known as a 'lead' for their dogs, particularly at this time of year. Might also have been sensible to have advised the public that if they are bitten by a snake they ought to seek medical attention immediately, not wait until they fall over. Last thing we need is a human UK adder death.

And before anyone says well how could the dog walker know adder were around.. we get reports in the press most years from the Southend area regarding adder bites. (Local radio reported the incident happened in Southend)

We have a dog, he's taken into areas where adder are abundant, common sense says keep him on the paths and on a lead. The only time either Merv myself or our dog have been injured in the field was when Zeb was attacked by a group of out of control dogs that we had to fend off.. Merv ended up in hospital with a bite wound through the middle of a finger joint.. very nasty.

I'm quite a regular at my Brookwood site and because of this i'm seeing the same dog walkers each time.
Even though the owners know what I am doing they still allow their dogs a free run and they often come bounding up to me while i'm observing adders. Only a few days ago myself and Paul were out there, I pointed out three adders grouped together (Cold and Sluggish) , and as Paul was marking with GPS and writing notes these two dogs were bouncing around him in circles .

I definitely agree that fencing should be put up and if anyone asks it's there to protect ground nesting birds.

"The only cure would be to fence off the most sensitive areas, and to oblige dog owners to keep their mutts on a lead, without specifying the real reason"

Nah, Claymores (the American ones, not the Scotts).