Chinese man jailed after flat’s high electricity usage exposes breeding of 300 snakes

A man living alone in eastern China was sentenced to jail for breeding over 300 pythons at home.

This shocking incident was revealed by state media CCTV in late June as a case of “serious” harm to rare and endangered wildlife.

Pythons are classified as Grade Two protected animals in China, and laws prohibit the buying, selling, breeding, and transporting of this species without official permission.

The violator came to police attention after a senior citizen in Taizhou, Zhejiang province, discovered a large snake at the base of a local mountain in March 2024.

The elderly man reported the snake to the authorities, believing the tawny reptile, as thick as an adult’s arm, was unusual for the region.

Officers speculated that the snake had escaped from its breeders, as it was not an indigenous species and snakes are generally inactive in the wild during March.