What's the world coming to...

...When someone can't even take their snake out for a walk without being arrested?

A man in New York State was walking down a street, minding his own business, with his 14-foot python wrapped around his body. An ASPCA "officer" (since when does a private organization get police powers?) noticed him and called the real police, who "charged [Curtis Dewberry] with animal cruelty and failure to protect the public against dangerous wildlife."

Did anyone bother to ask the snake how it felt to have its walk cut short?

In all seriousness, Dewberry seems to have been merely strolling along with his pet, not bothering anyone or attempting to scare or startle anybody, until some busybody decided to make a Federal case out of it. How is this possibly grounds for an arrest for "animal cruelty"? In my opinion, this is a stupid charge that only trivializes the very real abuse that happens to pets.

When I was in elementary school, once a year or so we would have an assembly by a concern known as "Reptile World". The show usually included the man in charge wrapping a large python around several children. Good fun was generally had by all.

Maybe I should have called 911 and reported all of the "cruelty" and "not protecting of the public" that was going on.