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THE TIMES (London, UK) 15 June 06 Man gravely ill as cobra bites hand that fed it (Simon de Bruxelles)
A pet shop worker was critically ill in hospital last night after being bitten by a king cobra.
Adam Ockwell, who is in his late twenties, was feeding the 9ft (3m) deadly snake at a shop near Bristol when it sank its fangs into his hand. His life was saved by the shop’s owner who ran outside and flagged down a police car which took him to hospital without waiting for an ambulance.
A full bite from a king cobra is capable of killing an adult within 15 minutes but doctors were able to stabilise Mr Ockwell’s condition while anti- venom was rushed to Bristol from Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital in London by courier.
Last night Mr Ockwell was said to be in a critical condition in intensive care.
Mr Ockwell, who works at the Reptile Zone in Filton, near Bristol, was attacked at about 6pm on Tuesday just before the shop was due to close.
Robert Bustard, a former president of the British Herpetological Society, said that the bite would have caused extreme pain and swelling.
He said: “He would be seriously ill very quickly. Breathing would become very difficult. He would begin vomiting within minutes and be running alternately hot and cold. He would quickly start shaking and could fall unconscious.
“The man is very lucky that he had help so quickly and that the hospital was close — those facts almost certainly saved him from a horrible death.”
Dr Bustard called for the Government to do more to regulate the possession of snakes such as the king cobra.
He said: “It is wrong and quite ridiculous that ordinary, non-professional people — and I include pet shop staff in that — are allowed to keep these snakes. There should be more restrictions on anyone keeping such dangerous animals.”
Mr Ockwell was believed to be responding well to treatment last night.
There were about 15 glass tanks ranging in length from 3ft to 6ft inside the shop yesterday containing dozens of large snakes, including two 8ft carpet pythons, a boa constrictor and other dangerous reptiles.
The more venomous snakes are kept in a lock-up at the back of the store, to which only senior staff have access.
Anyone who keeps a king cobra needs to have a licence under the Dangerous Wild Animals Act 1974 or face a fine of up to £5,000.
The shop, which has been open since October, is fully licensed and its owner has had a dangerous wild animals licence for more than five years. Speaking yesterday, a shop assistant who refused to be named said: “We can’t make any comment about what’s happened, but we adhere to the strictest health and safety standards in everything we do here and this is certainly an isolated incident.”
A spokeswoman for Avon and Somerset police said that the quick-thinking officer saved Mr Ockwell’s life.
She said: “A police officer was flagged down by the owner of a pet shop who said that someone had received a snake bite. The officer took the victim to hospital. According to hospital staff this saved his life. As far as we are aware the victim is not out of danger yet. No police investigation is required.”
Killer That Looks You Stright In The Eye
The king cobra can grow up to 16ft (5m) in length and is the world’s longest venomous snake
It has a head as big as a man’s hand and can stand tall enough to look you straight in the eye
The average bite of seven millilitres of venom is enough to kill seven people or a full-size elephant
It kills hundreds of people in its native India each year, mostly workers chopping down bamboo where the female snakes are guarding their eggs
The king cobra’s fangs are almost half an inch (8-10mm) long and are angled back into the snake’s mouth. Once the snake has sunk its hollow fangs into its prey a small muscle pumps the venom in like a miniature hypodermic syringe
A “regal” bite delivers venom from glands attached to the fangs. The flexing of a small muscle forces the venom through the hollow fangs into the victim
Man gravely ill as cobra bites hand that fed it

THE ADVERTISER (Swindon, UK) 16 June 06 Bitten man on road to recovery (Daniel Knowles)
The pet shop where Swindon man Adam Ockwell was attacked by a King Cobra was fully licensed to handle the dangerous animals.
South Gloucestershire Council had issued the Reptile Zone shop in Bristol with a Dangerous Wild Animals licence.
Mr Ockwell, 22, was yesterday still in Frenchay Hospital.
The owner of the pet shop where the attack took place, Peter Blake, said Mr Ockwell was no longer in a critical condition.
Following the attack, on Tuesday evening, Mr Blake flagged down a passing police officer, who took Mr Ockwell to Frenchay Hospital.
Mr Ockwell was transferred to intensive care, while an anti-venom was sent by courier from London.
"He's been moved back to a normal ward bed and is recovering very well," Mr Blake said.
"He is no longer in a critical condition."
A South Gloucestershire Council spokeswoman said investigators had visited the shop since the attack.
"The premises in Filton are fully licensed by South Gloucestershire Council and under the terms of the Dangerous Wild Animals Act schedule, is within its rights to sell venomous snakes," she said.
"A condition of the licence requires the owner to notify the council when the snakes are to be moved on or off the premises.
"In this instance, it is understood that the member of staff was bitten on the hand while hand-feeding the snake, which had been having feeding problems.
"An officer visited the premises to investigate. However, no inquiry has been launched at this stage."
In Swindon a search of council records shows there are no Dangerous Wild Animal licences issued.
A Swindon Council spokesman said there was no blanket ban on owning dangerous animals, but owners would face stringent conditions.
All venomous snakes must be registered with the council, along with animals including alligators, ostriches, moose, giant armadillos, some spiders and scorpions, walruses, seals, sea lions and wild cats.
Emma Neal, co-owner of Exotic Pet Co in Morley Street, said that snakes were popular pets but poisonous varieties were not allowed in Swindon.
Ms Neal said the poisonous snakes did not make good pets anyway. She said non-venomous snakes and lizards did not require licences and were popular.
Filton pet shop owner Mr Blake insisted Mr Ockwell was highly experienced and knew exactly what he was doing with the Cobra which can kill a man in 15 minutes with its venom.
Mr Ockwell had written an online guide to caring for Jungle Carpet Pythons and contributed to Reptile Care magazine, he added.
"Adam is an expert in his field and spent thousands of hours handling snakes," Mr Blake said.
Avon and Somerset Police said they would not be investigating the unusual workplace injury.
Mr Blake said the Cobra the longest of all the venomous snakes was not being sold in the shop but was part of a breeding programme.
Venomfacts
King Cobra venom is a powerful neurotoxin that shuts down its victim's nervous system.
If enough venom gets into a bite victim, they stop breathing and die.
Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine spokesman Alan Hughes said poisonous snake bites were treated with anti-venom. He said that anti-venom was created by injecting small amounts of venom into large animals, usually horses.
The horses then create antibodies to defend themselves against the venom.
Blood is then taken from the horses, the antibodies removed and stored in concentrated form the anti-venom. When a person is bitten, the anti-venom is injected and the antibodies attach themselves to the venom, neutralising it.
Anti-venom is stored at the school of tropical health and hospitals and other facilities around the UK.

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