Man in police custody dies after venomous snake bite in Free State

Inspectors with the SPCA have seen a lot over the years – terrible things, bizarre things, things that would turn your stomach.

But the scene that confronted them recently was a first even for these hardened officials. Cage after cage after cage was stacked one on top of the other, each one housing a creature of some kind – and most of those creatures were deadly snakes.

Bush vipers, swamp vipers, diamondback rattlesnakes, Chinese spitting cobras, yellow anacondas, boomslang – the list went on and on. There was also a baby Nile crocodile, a savannah monitor lizard, seven green iguanas, three meerkats (one pregnant), two ferrets and a container of tarantulas.