comparing the various posts so far, i find yours, misty, to be abrupt and hurtful (even though you didn't mean it to be) as well as being full of recrimination and judgement. i found kim's post to be factual and nothing more than that. nothing hurtful, no recrimination towards anyone; for any reason. leslie's post in response to kim's was appropriate - again, it was factual. it also acknowledged the other person's personal opinion, about natural diet vs kibble, as being valid (iow, no recriminations/judgements). debi's post was also appropriate. again, factual. and she brought up a very good point that all shelters should keep in mind - the connection with dog fighting and that they use animals like ferrets/rabbits/etc for 'training' purposes. as for the original post, i thought it was a matter of being a bit overboard about it all. yes, those animals were saved from being eaten by the snake...does anyone really think that that guy didn't find some other animals to feed to his snake? trying to get a law passed to stop it just doesn't make any sense at all. simple fact is that it's not possible to force such a thing on certain pet owners (to my knowledge, there are no kibble products available for any meat-eating reptiles). and to try to force others who own warm blooded pets, who want to exercise the choice of natural over kibble, just isn't right or fair. for the owner or the pet. ferrets/polecats/weasels/stoats/meercats would be within the normal diet of many snakes - and are, depending on what area of the world they are located in. so, for a person who has a snake as a pet, it's not at all far-fetched or unusual for them to look for a ferret (or rabbit or kitten or guinea pig) to feed the snake. especially if it's on the larger side (mice or even a rat wouldn't cut it for a fulfilling meal). as for live versus dead and which is better (for the prey as well as predator), well, different snakes prefer it differently so no one can say 'this way is better for the prey and that's how it should be done'. it all depends on the type of snake and what they usually do in the wild - kill/eat or eat already dead. some types of snakes will not eat an already dead item. many reptiles that eat meat will not eat already dead...they want/need to kill it themselves. regardless of how upset anyone gets over the subject, animals eating other animals is a normal part of life...in fact, it's a necessary part of life (especially for obligate carnivores like ferrets). unless you are a strict vegan, you don't have the right to make any comment about animals eating other animals (live/killed or already dead) at all because you, too, are guilty of being an animal eating anther animal. even if you are a strict vegan, that's something that you made a choice about. there are many animals that do not have a choice in the matter and they must eat other animals (ferrets are in this group, being obligate as they are; as are snakes). so, you still don't have the right to make any comment about it. it's just nature doing it's thing. simple fact. the majority of pet owners want to provide the best diet for their pets. simple fact. in this instance, that's exactly what the owner of the snake was attempting to do. simple fact. owning a large snake makes this kind of thing necessary. simple fact. even if it may be distasteful to some. and, no, i don't agree with the 'sideshow' attitude that sometimes goes along with feeding live animals to snakes (as that guy seemed to be into). that's just a part of what being a snake owner can be for some people. simple fact. i've known some who didn't promote that (wouldn't even allow anyone to be there when they fed the snake) and others who were ready and willing to let you 'see the show'; even specifically invited you to it; even just went and fed the thing with you sitting right there even though you'd already said you didn't want to see it. that whole 'sideshow' aspect of it is no different, really, than a documentary show about predators (like lions, tigers and even the big snakes) catching/killing/eating their prey. some people find that kind of thing fascinating - especially when they can see it going on 3 feet in front of them instead of on a tv screen. simple fact - as bizarre as it may be. to each his/her own. simple fact. and, just for the record (in case it's not already clear above), i am NOT one of those people who went and watched the friends snake kill/eat live prey. not my cuppa. i was appalled when they threw the mouse in the tank...gave me no warning either...some people just get a kick out of shocking people. simple fact. needless to say, the friendship ended as i walked out the door (within 2 minutes of him doing that). joclyn [Posted in FML 6386]