Warning issued after python is spotted on popular UK dog-walking spot

A six foot python has been spotted on two separate locations popular with dog walkers as the police issues a warning to pet owners
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Hampshire Police have issued a warning after a six foot long python was spotted in two separate popular dog walking locations. The snake, which is non-venomous, was seen around Hawley Meadows in Hampshire on Sunday (April 9), far away from where it was first spotted just days before.

An appeal was launched by the police on Friday (April 7), after they said a python had been sighted on Oakfield Road in Blackwater. Officers believe the two sightings were of the same reptile, which means it had travelled nearly two miles in just two days.

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The snake has so far eluded capture, and has been hiding from officers who have been attempting to find and capture it. It is suspected that it could be a carpet or rock python - both known to eat smaller animals like dogs and cats.

According to Sunshine Coast Snake Catchers, an Australian company specialising in capturing snakes, said they are aware of the threat the reptile can cause to pets being eaten. They said: "Please be aware that a large Carpet Python could potentially kill and eat a small cat or dog.

“It doesn’t happen often but it has definitely happened before so if you have a snake in your yard be sure to keep your pets a safe distance away from it and it’s probably best to get it relocated."

In a statement, the Hampshire Police division Hart North Police said: "We were called at 1.49pm today (Friday 7 April) to a sighting of a python near a footpath in Oakfield Road, Blackwater – as pictured by the informant. An officer went to the area to look for the animal but it could not be found.

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"The snake is believed to be a rock or carpet python, 5/6ft long and non-venomous; they come from Africa and need to be kept at a temperature of around 32 degrees Celsius. If you see the python in the area, you can call 101 or report online quoting 985 of today’s date."