We were deeply saddened to learn about the death of 2-year-old Shaiunna Hare, who was killed in her home in Oxford, Florida, Wednesday morning.
 
There are still some significant questions about whether the family’s 8-foot Burmese Python really killed the child, or whether she died beforehand and the snake was tossed into her crib to take the blame.  We are all waiting for the autopsy reports to be issued.  We hope that the coroner will review all the evidence fairly, and reach the proper conclusions, without allowing any personal prejudices to cloud his/her judgment.
 
Regardless of how it happened, her death is a terrible tragedy.  However, it is already clear that her parents are guilty of gross negligence and breaking several laws, and should be held legally accountable for her untimely death.
 
     1) The python was being kept illegally; it was not properly microchipped or licensed in accordance with Florida State Laws.
 
     2) The python was not being properly housed.  Its habitat was dangerously small and insecure.  Instead of using any kind of lid, the parents were merely laying a quilt over the top of the cage, and securing the corners with a rope.  Their own statement to police indicated that the python had already escaped once the previous night, yet they had taken no additional steps to ensure that it remained safely caged.
 
     3) It appears that the python was being systematically starved.  It was very thin, and there is considerable question about when it was last fed.
 
Under these appalling conditions, the surprising fact is not that a tragedy occurred, but that it didn’t happen much sooner.
 
Florida Fish & Wildlife and the Florida Reptile Community have established strict guidelines for the ownership of Burmese Pythons.  The laws already in place in Florida are strong.  Had they been followed, this tragedy could have been prevented.
 
Our hearts go out to the family, as they must be struggling with a huge amount of sorrow and guilt right now.  Our hearts also go out to the python who, by all accounts, was NOT normally aggressive but was severely starved, and allegedly desperate enough to attack a "prey" that tasted bad (human flesh has a distinctly bitter tang to it, which is why most predators will not attack a human unless starving or threatened).
 
But mostly our hearts go out to the defenseless little girl who was killed.  Thanks to all the fatal mistakes made by her parents, she will never see another butterfly or sunrise or smiling face again.

Addendum - 8/1/2009
 
A few more facts to consider about this tragic incident:
     -  The snake was clearly not aggressive, as the child had played with it on the floor regularly, and it had never made the slightest attempt to menace her, even though it had been systematically starved for possibly years.
     -  No snake will attack, or attempt to eat, any prey that is too large to fit down its throat.  Even a healthy 8-foot Burmese Python would have considerable difficulty swallowing a two-year-old child.  The snake in question could never even have gotten its mouth around the girl's head, let alone her shoulders.
     -  DCF had already been called out to the house on previous occasions, because the children were not being properly cared for.
     -  The mother and boyfriend noticed that the snake was missing from its tank again before they noticed that the child didn't appear for breakfast--am I the only one who sees something wrong with that picture??
     -  The mother's boyfriend claims that the snake was wrapped around the child's neck, yet the coroner's report indicates that her ribs were broken.  This is the same boyfriend whose own daughter died at the same age, a few years ago, under suspicious circumstances.
     -  The child's grandmother (the mother's mother) has expressed grave concerns that the child might have already been dead, and the snake was put in her crib to cover up her death.
     -  Experts in the herpetological field agree that there are just too many facts that "don't add up," and suspicions about whether the child died of an accident or misadventure continue to grow.
     -  Certain segments of the media have been claiming that the snake was being kept in a tank with a secured lid and a lock, and that it broke through the lock.  This is NOT true.
     -  These same media venues are the same ones supporting H.R. 669, S. 373, and its companion Bill H.R. 2811, which would outlaw all "non-native" pets throughout the United States.