Oh no, not cannibal rats again!
53-year-old William Buchman‘s Santa Ana, Calif. home was investigated after authorities obtained a search warrant under the suspicion of animal abuse, and what they found was SHOCKING!
The grade-school teachers home was FILLED with 300-400 snakes, most of which unfortunately died due to neglect and starvation!!
Director of Reptile Rescue Orange County Sam Makki described the horrific scene, saying:
“A lot of the snakes were just bones. There were rodents running around the house.”
According to neighbors, William was known to breed and sell ball pythons, which are notoriously easy to care for. But in a tale as old as time, his hobby soon became an obsession, and before he knew it he was hoarding more snakes than he could care fore!
Santa Ana Animal Services supervisor Sondra Berg says they were immediately overwhelmed by the staggering amount of animals he had:
“Four rooms the racks are floor to ceiling each with 30 to 40 snakes in containers per rack. The front room had nine racks, and we haven├óΓé¼Γäót even gotten to the next room.”
Authorities believe that the death of William’s mother back in 2011 had a huge affect on him emotionally and could have played a part in the nightmarish conditions he was living in. In fact, things had gotten so bad that the feeding rodents began to run rampant in his home, and some of began to eat each other! Oh god, not CANNIBAL RATS!!
While many of the snakes were already dead upon arrival, many of the survivors will be taken to local animal rescue shelters where they will be treated to and possibly even put up for adoption.
It’s unclear what kind of punishment William will receive, but at the moment he is currently facing several charges of animal cruelty. As he should!
You may not like slithering snakes, but they did not deserve that kind of life!
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