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Rattlesnake (stock image): Bitten woman held 70 to 80 snakes
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Todd Korol / Reuters/ REUTERS
A 35-year-old woman died after being bitten by a rattlesnake.
According to the police, the woman was bitten by her own rattlesnake on her finger in her apartment in Sehlde (Wolfenbüttel district) on Sunday.
She was initially taken to a hospital in Salzgitter, but her condition deteriorated and she was transferred to the Hannover Medical School.
There, a counter-serum from the Tropical Institute in Hamburg was requested.
According to the police, the woman keeps about 70 to 80 snakes.
The officials switched on the environmental authority and the veterinary office in Wolfenbüttel.
According to a report by the NDR, the emergency services also called experts from a snake farm for help.
Apparently, they were presented with a frightening picture: the snakes were kept in poorly protected boxes stacked a meter high.
Some of the animals lay in their own feces, and many were malnourished and dehydrated.
There were also cats in the room.
Investigations were underway as to whether the woman was allowed to hold so many snakes at all, a spokesman told NDR.
This applies because of the animal and species protection regulations, but also because of the possible danger to other people.
sol/dpa
