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Melbourne family finds deadly snake near kids and warns council - then it goes on to kill a beloved pet in 'avoidable' attack

| 20.01,23. 05:56 PM |

Melbourne family finds deadly snake near kids and warns council - then it goes on to kill a beloved pet in 'avoidable' attack


The snake was discovered just metres away from children playing outside in Greenvale. (Nine)

A Melbourne father said the council have let his community down after a deadly tiger snake found near his young children was not removed and went on to kill a beloved pet.

Michael Rasile's kids were playing outside his Greenvale home on Monday when neighbours spotted one of the most venomous snakes in the world just a metre from them.

"The snake was crawling on the fence line, it was near our back fence near our children, who are under two-year-old," Rasile told 9news.com.au.
The snake was discovered just metres away from children playing outside in Greenvale. (Nine)
He contacted Hume City Council's snake catcher hotline about 1.30pm but was told they could not come as they didn't have permission to enter the neighbouring property.
However, Rasile said several phone calls were made from multiple residents.
"We were told they couldn't send the snake catcher out until our neighbour called, so my wife went inside and locked all the doors. My neighbour also called."
It wasn't until Rasile was on his way home from work that he was notified the snake had moved three houses down and bitten his neighbour's adored pet Doberman, Bane.
Bane's owner said she was too traumatised to speak about her loss.
A concerned Rasile then contacted private snake catcher Mark Pelley to come and deal with the snake, hours after the first call.
Beloved pet Doberman, Bane was bitten and killed by the tiger snake. (Nine)
"It's disappointing, my kids were a metre away from the tiger snake. God forbid that a human was bitten but now a pet is dead," Rasile said.
"A dog has died and the council doesn't care."
The "very frustrated" snake catcher told 9news.com.au the death was completely avoidable.
Pelley said he has made multiple attempts to persuade the council to change its snake-catching policy, which requires permission to be given from the owner of a home before they can collect the snake from their property.
This means if you see a snake on someone else's property and they are not around, the council will not act and the highly-venomous snake is free to move to another spot, potentially the home of another unsuspecting resident.
"I spend my life protecting pets and people from venomous snakes and the council's policies have cost the life of a dog," Pelley said.
Snake catcher Mark Peelly said he is fed-up with the council, who said it was "avoidable".  (Nine)
"When it comes to snakes, timing is everything. If they can't have a snake catcher attend the property in a quick time frame then they could have engaged me to attend.

"This situation could have been avoided a long time ago if council took my warnings seriously. It could have been a different outcome.

A Hume City Council said they were extremely saddened to hear of the loss of the family pet.

"As the call to council was not received by the property owner, we were unfortunately unable to provide legal authority for the snake catcher to access the property," the spokesperson told 9news.com.au.

Rasile said this response is just not good enough.
"We feel let down by the council. The way they handled it endangered lives," he said.

"The snake crossed four houses, there are more than six children who live in the street, that are all under 10.
"It's disappointing and there is no duty of care."

Tiger Snakes are found in large parts of Victoria and Melbourne, particularly the capital city's western suburbs. 
Its venom is strongly neurotoxic and coagulant.

"The snake's large size, often aggressive defence and toxic venom make it extremely dangerous to humans," The Australian Museum warned.

"Although generally shy and preferring escape over conflict, a cornered tiger snake will put on an impressive threat display by holding its forebody in a tense, loose curve with the head slightly raised and pointed at the offender."

Anyone who is bitten should seek medical attention immediately.

Farah News /9News


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