Snake breeder’s death sparks investigation

Luke Yeomans killed by bite from one of his king cobras An investigation is under way into the death of a snake breeder who was killed by one of his venomous reptiles. Luke Yeomans, 47, died after being bitten at his home in Eastwood, Nottingham, on Wednesday. The conservationist was due to open the King Cobra Sanctuary breeding colony to the public this weekend. Nottinghamshire police said officers were called at around 2pm to a property in Brookhill Leys Road, near Eastwood, where a man had suffered a suspected heart attack and was pronounced dead at the scene. A snake had been contained and there was no danger to the public. The RSPCA, Health and Safety Executive and Broxtowe borough council had been informed, police said.”Nottinghamshire police will investigate the circumstances surrounding the death in conjunction with the appropriate agency and will liaise with the coroner’s office.” The King Cobra Sanctuary, based at Brookhill Leys Farm, offers open days to allow people to see the reptiles. Yeomans wrote on the sanctuary’s website that it was “born from my lifelong love for this amazing snake species and my concerns that it could eventually disappear from the wild. “Until mankind changes the way he treats the natural world, a living ‘ark’ is required for the survival of many animal species. “The king cobra ( Ophiophagus hannah ) , an end of the line apex predator, is certainly one of them. “With 30 years experience of the king cobra, myself and my daughter Nicole – now in our third year of the project – will maintain a breeding colony of this large and dangerous, but also misunderstood venomous snake.” Yeomans recently told the BBC he was keeping a colony of adult and juvenile king cobras in a compound behind his house as a “safety net” to protect the species from possible extinction. He said he started the project in 2008 in reaction to the depletion of the snake’s natural habitat in forests of south-east Asia and India, and planned to breed another 100 snakes by the end of 2011. “People do say that I am mad but I say it’s better than people saying you’re bad,” he told the BBC. “I think everything I am doing is good.” Animals guardian.co.uk

Posted by on June 30, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.