snake in pond.

[Gary John]

Hi all, hope i am in the right group as i have a outdoor pond.
My worry is that tonight, I have noticed a snake in the pond. Is this
anything to worry about and will it be of concern to my goldfish.
I live in the south west of England.

[Elaine T]

Gary John wrote:
> Hi all, hope i am in the right group as i have a outdoor pond.
> My worry is that tonight, I have noticed a snake in the pond. Is this
> anything to worry about and will it be of concern to my goldfish.
> I live in the south west of England.
>
>
You might try rec.ponds. There are some very friendly experts on
outdoor ponds there. The group is having a bit of trouble with a
crossposting, header forging troll, so just ignore the off-topic
crossposts or anything that seems oddly rude.

FWIW, there was a thread there earlier this year where someone had a
snake and wasn't seeing any fish or frogs. He went to the extreme of
partly draining his pond to get the snake out, and if I remember
correctly he found the fish but not the frogs. You might be able to
find the thread on google groups.

--
Elaine T __
http://eethomp.com/fish.html <'__><
rec.aquaria.* FAQ http://faq.thekrib.com

[Reel McKoi]

"Gary John" > wrote in message
...
> Hi all, hope i am in the right group as i have a outdoor pond.

$$ There is a pond group called rec.ponds.

> My worry is that tonight, I have noticed a snake in the pond. Is this
> anything to worry about and will it be of concern to my goldfish.

$$ Yes. All water snakes will eat fish small enough for them to swallow. I
know from experience. :-(

> I live in the south west of England.
--
McKoi.... the frugal ponder...
EVERYONE: "Please check people's headers for forgeries
before flushing." NAMES ARE BEING FORGED.
My Pond Page http://tinyurl.com/cuq5b
~~~ }<((((o> ~~~ }<{{{{o> ~~~ }<(((((o>

[Gary John]

Hi group,

I have been recommended to post here from a fellow member.
I have a goldfish pond in the back garden here in the south west of England
and found a long snake in there last night.
Will this scare or harm my goldfish and, if so, what can I do about it
please?
"Reel McKoi" > wrote in message
...
>
> "Gary John" > wrote in message
> ...
>> Hi all, hope i am in the right group as i have a outdoor pond.
>
> $$ There is a pond group called rec.ponds.
>
>> My worry is that tonight, I have noticed a snake in the pond. Is this
>> anything to worry about and will it be of concern to my goldfish.
>
> $$ Yes. All water snakes will eat fish small enough for them to swallow.
> I
> know from experience. :-(
>
>> I live in the south west of England.
> --
> McKoi.... the frugal ponder...
> EVERYONE: "Please check people's headers for forgeries
> before flushing." NAMES ARE BEING FORGED.
> My Pond Page http://tinyurl.com/cuq5b
> ~~~ }<((((o> ~~~ }<{{{{o> ~~~ }<(((((o>
>
>
>
>

[Geezer From The Freezer]

Get the snake out and take it to the nearest river.

[Martin]

Geezer From The Freezer wrote:
> Get the snake out and take it to the nearest river.

really bad advice, this could well be illegal. The RSPCA will come out
and take care of it for you.

[Geezer From The Freezer]

Martin wrote:
>
> Geezer From The Freezer wrote:
> > Get the snake out and take it to the nearest river.
>
> really bad advice, this could well be illegal. The RSPCA will come out
> and take care of it for you.

Why would it be illegal? Would it be illegal taking frogs that have found
their way to a pond back to where they originated?

You may be right. I honestly don't know if its illegal or not?

[Gareee©]

"Martin" > wrote in message
...
> Geezer From The Freezer wrote:
>> Get the snake out and take it to the nearest river.
>
> really bad advice, this could well be illegal. The RSPCA will come out and
> take care of it for you.

Actually, this is exactly what our local animal control people told us. If a
snake is NOT poisonous and a threat, they will not come and remove it, but
they told us to catch him, and relocate him into a nearby stream or lake.

If it is a animal not native to the area, I can see that being an issue, but
if it something native to the area, and not a threat, then I don't see an
issue at all.

--
Gareee's Homepage:
http://www.fortunecity.com/tattooine/ellison/86/mainframe.htm

Remove Delicious spam to reply

[Martin]

Geezer From The Freezer wrote:
>
> Martin wrote:
>
>>Geezer From The Freezer wrote:
>>
>>>Get the snake out and take it to the nearest river.
>>
>>really bad advice, this could well be illegal. The RSPCA will come out
>>and take care of it for you.
>
>
> Why would it be illegal? Would it be illegal taking frogs that have found
> their way to a pond back to where they originated?
>
> You may be right. I honestly don't know if its illegal or not?

The snake was not identified (could have been a grass snake with a bit
of imagination) the release of non-native wild animals into the wild is
illegal (Wildlife & Countryside Act). Same goes for some frogs which are
imports, some shrimps, assorted escaped exotics, some exotic fish.

Infact it's strongly recomended never to release any wild animal back
into the countryside because of the possible transmission of disease.

"The Act also makes it an offence to deliberately release any non-native
species into the wild. This includes releasing any of the non-native
species already established in the wild in the UK.

A number of species are listed in a schedule to the act as being
established in the wild. Release of these species is an offence in the
same way as release of any other alien species. These taxa are:....."

http://www.threadnaught.net/~caleb/uklaw.html

including your frogs/toads

Midwife toad Alytes obstetricans
European tree frog Hyla arborea
Marsh frog Rana ridibunda
Edible frog Rana esculenta
African clawed toadXenopus laevis
Yellow-bellied toad Bombina variegata

[Martin]

Gareee© wrote:
> "Martin" > wrote in message
> ...
>
>>Geezer From The Freezer wrote:
>>
>>>Get the snake out and take it to the nearest river.
>>
>>really bad advice, this could well be illegal. The RSPCA will come out and
>>take care of it for you.
>
>
> Actually, this is exactly what our local animal control people told us. If a
> snake is NOT poisonous and a threat, they will not come and remove it, but
> they told us to catch him, and relocate him into a nearby stream or lake.

Are you in the UK?

> If it is a animal not native to the area, I can see that being an issue, but
> if it something native to the area, and not a threat, then I don't see an
> issue at all.

How do you know whether it's native or not unless a good identification
has been made? Equally whether or not it's poisonous? The poster said he
lived s/w England and had an unidentified snake.

The RSPCA will come and shift it for you, or at the very least come and
identify it and tell you what the law is regarding it. Again, it could
well be illegal to move it out to the countryside.

From the act "Further protection is offered to the rarest species. Any
form of deliberate or reckless disturbance to these species is a
criminal offence, as is possession of these species at any life stage.
Licences may be granted for the handling of these animals, for
scientific or conservation purposes."

If you try to move one of these protected species you can be prosecuted
for it, whether you want it in your pond or not. Draining the pond would
also be illegal, fencing it in, cleaning or most other things if it
disturbs the protected species.

[Courageous]

>If you try to move one of these protected species you can be prosecuted
>for it, whether you want it in your pond or not. Draining the pond would
>also be illegal, fencing it in, cleaning or most other things if it
>disturbs the protected species.

Green politics run amuck! Property rights trump all this environazi
invasion into your property. Send the snake packing, I say, just don't
tell anyone... even if it's "protected". Meanwhile, send the environuts
packing out of your local congress, if they're passing laws that make
it so that you can't maintain your own pond and land!!!

C//

[Martin]

Courageous wrote:
>>If you try to move one of these protected species you can be prosecuted
>>for it, whether you want it in your pond or not. Draining the pond would
>>also be illegal, fencing it in, cleaning or most other things if it
>>disturbs the protected species.
>
>
> Green politics run amuck! Property rights trump all this environazi
> invasion into your property. Send the snake packing, I say, just don't
> tell anyone... even if it's "protected". Meanwhile, send the environuts
> packing out of your local congress, if they're passing laws that make
> it so that you can't maintain your own pond and land!!!
>
> C//
>
Wait until we start talking about bats! lol

[Logic316]

> Courageous wrote:
>
>>> If you try to move one of these protected species you can be
>>> prosecuted for it, whether you want it in your pond or not. Draining
>>> the pond would also be illegal, fencing it in, cleaning or most other
>>> things if it disturbs the protected species.
>>
>>
>>
>> Green politics run amuck! Property rights trump all this environazi
>> invasion into your property. Send the snake packing, I say, just don't
>> tell anyone... even if it's "protected". Meanwhile, send the environuts
>> packing out of your local congress, if they're passing laws that make
>> it so that you can't maintain your own pond and land!!!


Indeed. In the U.S. these days, you can't even move a pile of dirt or
drain a mosquito-infested puddle on your own property without possibly
risking heavy fines and a jail sentence. Well, I say we humans didn't
evolve to the top of the food chain and prosper by sacrificing our needs
for the good of some damn species of vermin! It's not like they give a
damn about OUR survival, do they? I always thought conservation of
natural resources and wildlife was a noble goal, but ever since the fall
of the Iron Curtain the environmentalist movement became a haven for all
the old socialists/communists seeking to abolish private property and
collectivize everything under authoritarian government control, and the
most radical groups are a bunch of misanthropic liberal-guilt-ridden
earth-worshiping eco-terrorists who actually believe that humans are
some kind of an unnatural infestation of the planet. Eco-nazis have also
infiltrated and become nearly indistinguishable from the animal rights
movement, which once upon a time simply fought for the welfare and
humane treatment of animals, but now seeks to put the needs of animals
on the same (or higher) moral level as humans. These are sick, sick
people on the left wing who are equal to the worst religious extremists
on the right wing.

- Logic316

"Private property began the instant somebody had a mind of his own."
-- E. E. Cummings

"Ultimately property rights and personal rights are the same thing."
-- Calvin Coolidge

"No other rights are safe where property is not safe."
-- Daniel Webster

"[t]he moment that idea is admitted into society that property is not as
sacred as the Laws of God, and that there is not a force of law and
public justice to protect it, anarchy and tyranny commence. Property
must be sacred or liberty cannot exist.
-- John Adams

“Something has gone seriously awry with this Court's interpretation of
the Constitution. Though citizens are safe from the government in their
homes, the homes themselves are not."
-- Justice Clarence Thomas