£2,000 reward offered for information leading to arrest after snakes dumped in Derbyshire field in “disturbing” incident

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is offering a reward of up to £2,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person(s) responsible for dumping three corn snakes in North Wingfield.

The reptiles, which were found at the entrance to a field off Haddon Road on January 31, had been abandoned in freezing temperatures in a taped-up cardboard box with just newspaper. All the snakes were underweight and “lucky to be alive”, according to an RSPCA inspector.

Elisa Allen, PETA’s Vice President of Programmes, said: “We’re calling on anyone who has information about this case to come forward so that whoever abandoned these animals can be held accountable and prevented from endangering anyone else.

“It takes a disturbing and dangerous lack of empathy to abandon living, feeling beings.”

PETA – whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way” – notes that snakes and other reptiles sold in pet shops are either caught in the wild (potentially damaging fragile ecosystems) or bred in cramped, filthy breeding mills. The animals are often drugged and stuffed into suitcases so that they can be illegally smuggled across borders. Many do not survive the journey, and those who do usually arrive in poor health.

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The group further notes that captive snakes are the only species of animal permitted to be kept in enclosures in which they cannot unfurl their bodies, even though scientific advice from the government’s Animal Welfare Committee has stated that snakes need to have enough space to fully stretch out.

The RSPCA is urging anyone with firsthand information about the incident to call its appeals line on 0300 123 8018.