BBC (London, UK) 09 April 08 Jailed for cutting off snake head
A man who cut off the head of a snake while high on a cocktail of cocaine and vodka has been jailed for 28 days.
James Lloyd Evans-Bull, 23, of Swansea, pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to the boa constrictor.
Magistrates heard he attacked the 5ft (1.52m) pet, claiming it had attacked him when he released it from its cage.
His mother woke to discover a pool of blood, and the apprentice painter and decorator apologised to her: "My head's gone. It's the drink and cocaine."
John Tarrant, prosecuting, read out a vet's post-mortem report in court detailing the extent of the pain the reptile would have suffered.
It highlighted how a snake's physiology would mean the severed head would go on feeling pain for up to an hour after decapitation.
It also detailed how the snake's lower neck showed that Evans-Bull had made two previous failed attempts to saw off its head before he was successful.
"The working of the knife through the various tissues will have inflicted extreme pain," the vet's report said.
"It is my understanding that this decapitation was performed with a domestic kitchen knife. To so sever the head of a live snake would take a lot of force.
"Once decapitated, the severed head will have continued to experience the pain sensation on the severed tissues for at least one hour.
"It is my opinion that this snake had died from a decapitation wound that would have led to a slow, painful death and caused this animal unnecessary suffering."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/south_west/7339359.stm

EVENING POST (Swansea, UK) 09 April 08 Snake's Head Hacked Off With Breadknife
A man who hacked off the head of a five-foot-long boa constrictor while high on a cocktail of cocaine and vodka was jailed for 28 days today.
James Lloyd Evans-Bull, 23, of Ravenhill, Swansea, South Wales, admitted that his attack on a family pet with a bread knife was barbaric.
His horrified mother woke in the early hours of January this year to find the living room floor a pool of blood, Swansea Magistrates' Court heard today.
Apprentice painter and decorator Evans-Bull claimed he had released the snake from its cage to play with it and it attacked him.
He later apologised to his mother explaining: "My head's gone. It's the drink and cocaine."
http://www.thisissouthwales.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=161366&command=displayContent&sourceNode=258861&home=yes&more_nodeId1=161375&contentPK=20359314

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• GBR Press: Snake Decapitation Hearing - W von Papineäu, Sat Mar 29 18:15:48 2008
• GBR Press x2: Jailed for cut snake head - W von Papineäu, Thu Apr 17 17:56:19 2008