--- description: Because Australia title: Police Have 'Arrested' This Seriously Dangerous Snake image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Newsfeed](/tag/time-section-newsfeed/) ## Newsfeed Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Police Have 'Arrested' a Snake for Living Up to Its Boa Constrictor Name by [Melissa Locker](/author/melissa-locker/) ## Melissa Locker Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 9, 2016 5:20 PM CUT by [Melissa Locker](/author/melissa-locker/) ## Melissa Locker Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 9, 2016 5:20 PM CUT Australia’s New South Wales police force may have captured their fair share of [snakes](http://time.com/4561535/snake-plane-mexico/?iid=sr-link1 "undefined") in the grass, but yesterday they arrested something entirely different—an actual snake. The police were called to a home in Singleton, New South Wales on Tuesday after it was reported that a small dog had been eaten by a pet snake, [_Mashable_](http://mashable.com/2016/11/08/boa-constrictor-arrested-australia/ "undefined") reported. The culprit was a seven-foot long boa constrictor and puppy eating wasn’t its only crime—it had also tried to live up to its name and constrict its owner’s breathing while he slept, according to [a statement from police](http://www.police.nsw.gov.au/news/latest%5Freleases?sq%5Fcontent%5Fsrc=%2BdXJsPWh0dHBzJTNBJTJGJTJGZWJpenByZC5wb2xpY2UubnN3Lmdvdi5hdSUyRm1lZGlhJTJGNTgwODkuaHRtbCZhbGw9MQ%3D%3D "undefined"). The local cops “arrested” the snake and handed it over to Australia’s National Parks and Wildlife officers. While Australia has many [snakes](http://time.com/4507564/snake-train-news/?iid=sr-link6 "undefined"), boa constrictors are not native to the country. Wildlife officers are planning to euthanize the boa due to the danger it appears to pose to native mammals and household pets. (Perhaps they had just watched the _Planet Earth II_ [snake chase scene](http://time.com/4562316/planet-earth-snakes-iguana/?iid=sr-link2 "undefined")?) The snake’s [owner](http://time.com/4243192/australian-man-pet-snake-swimming/?iid=sr-link7 "undefined") will be charged with possessing an exotic species without a license. \[H/T [Mashable](http://mashable.com/2016/11/08/boa-constrictor-arrested-australia/?utm%5Fcid=hp-n-2#B3tDbaKT2mqn "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4564292/police-arrest-snake/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4564292/police-arrest-snake/"},"headline":"Police Have 'Arrested' a Snake for Living Up to Its Boa Constrictor Name","datePublished":"2016-11-09T17:20:05.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:38:32.244Z","description":"Its owner didn't have the proper license","url":"https://time.com/4564292/police-arrest-snake/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Australia","animals","police","Law Enforcement","Snake"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Melissa Locker","jobTitle":"","url":"https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4564292/police-arrest-snake/","name":"Police Have 'Arrested' a Snake for Living Up to Its Boa Constrictor Name"}}]}] ```