I have decided to give a little information about a very good friend of mine that has been charged with the theft of Clive Reids reptiles. Everyone might know Clive Reids place as Hunyani Reptile Park or Snake City.
My friend’s name will be kept Anonymous for the time being. He has a passion for reptiles and he has more knowledge than most people in South Africa. He has the experience to self medicate his own reptiles and he has the ability to care for any reptile. He has been working on breeding programs to increase the numbers of the reptiles that have been taken out the wild. He has also managed to learn about reptile genetics and reptile morphing and has managed to breed reptile morphs himself.
He has taken me on various occasions to herp. He manages to catch a profound amount of reptiles while herping, but he never keeps the reptiles. He goes to new building areas and catches and releases all the South African Tarantulas, Scorpions and Snakes that he possibly can into an environment where they will be able to live a more productive life and where no harm will come to them. He manages to do all of this without the consent of Nature Conservation or TOPS. But ask yourself the question, where are they in all of this to help do what my friend is trying to do.
He has managed to dedicate most of his time going to schools, and educating the children about reptiles free of charge. I have managed to attend some of the schools where the accused has given educational talks. His aim is give as much knowledge to people and children to help preserve our wildlife.
He has gone to various places to remove snakes on behalf of people that are scared of snakes. The last place I went to, we picked up 2 brown house snakes and released them the same day back into the wild. We were called to collect these snakes from a school and it was done free of charge.
I do feel sorry for Mr Clive Reid, to lose a big collection of your snakes is like losing a part of your family, but we also need to face reality here. I don’t believe my friend had anything to do with the theft of the collection. I would also like people to take note that I have been to Hunyani Reptile Park or Snake City (whichever you would prefer to call it) and the reptiles are kept in such bad condition.
Clive has been an acquaintance of mine for 2 years now, I have often gone to get rats and mice and most times I can actually see the mites all over the rodents. I have also seen Snakes die from little or no heat or total neglect for its health. How do you manage to get a South African Reptile to catch pneumonia? The Snake park has no money and the reptiles are in such bad condition they seem to be getting sicker and sicker.
Clive had to take children and someone that worked at the park to ID his own reptiles. Wouldn’t you think that if it were your collection, you would know exactly what you have and what you don’t have?
I believe that Clive has got reptiles from the accused. The people that identified the reptiles on behalf of Clive managed to identify a Blood python as Burmese python. Is this who you bring to identify snakes?
There is a 15 year old boy, his name is Justin. Justin obtained a puff adder with no permit from Clive (who being a reptile park owner should have known better). For those of you that have knowledge he is still in school and is about 14 or 15 years old. He was bitten several months ago by a puff adder and had to be hospitalized. Everything went as good as could be hoped for. Clive and Wesley have said on various occasions that he deserved to get bitten and he had no experience. That’s fresh coming from the very people who gave it to him without a permit don’t you think.
Trent Greef got bitten by a false water cobra at Hunyani, Wesley and Clive think that it is a big joke. I think that this is negligence and disregard for human life. I believe that the negligence of Hunyani will result in a death of a child. Will everyone then wake up and realize what’s happening. The negligence on selling venomous reptiles are getting to a stage where people have to answer.
WVipera better known as Wesley Locke, has tried in the past to look after and help Clive with the collection he had. This was an honorable thing for Wesley to do. The accused has taken over doing this since Wesley left. Wesley left because he couldn’t handle the state in which Clive kept his snakes at the park.
I have recently chatted to Wesley and Wesley has changed completely especially to the park. Wesley had absolutely no interest in the park after leaving and he has refused to help Clive with Sick reptiles. Wesley has stated that he has a R50 000 collection and he wont take a chance taking Clives reptiles home because of how sick Clives animals are. As fortune has it Wesley has come to the rescue to help Clive in this unfortunate time.
I have also witnessed that Wesley has managed to get a couple of reptiles from my friend, 2 reptiles that apparently died in Wesleys care. A Rhino Viper (bitis nasicornis ) and a Gaboon viper (bitis gabonica) was given to Wesley to care for from the accused person and Wesley did not care for the fact that they died. I believe his words wore ‘yes they died but I need the space’. Wesley Locke I think you need to answer a few questions to people. It has also come to my attention that Wesley has told Clive that some reptiles have died yet some of my friends have bought these reptiles from Wesley and the best is, is that he has lied to Clive about Clive’s reptiles dying and then selling it behind Clive Reid’s back. Is that what you call a friend to Hunyani Reptile Park.
Wesley has told my friend the accused that a False water cobra recently put into my friends (the accused) care that the snake had a cut on its head straight to its skull. Wesley had told my friend to kill the snake and that it is better off not being at the park at all. I would like to add that the last time I saw this reptile, it was recovered, healthy and doing extremely well, this snake is in Clive Reids care now so I cant tell you if the snake is still alive.
Mr Clive Reid has this snake park, I know for a fact that all his reptiles has been abused and that the care for his snakes aren’t given. I have personally seen his son (5 years old) walking around with a rinkels on a Grab stick with no parental supervision or someone taking it away from him in care for his safety. I have seen young children (5 years old to 14 years old ) feeding venomous snakes and opening up the snake tanks. On various counts Clive has walked in to the Snake park and found Reptiles missing and tanks open.
I believe there was an incident on the 16th of March where he walked in and found a rinkels tank open. I would just like to state that the Park is in a residential area and that there is a Bar next door to where Clive has his park.
I believe dealing with all the venomous Snakes you need to take responsibility for these animals especially with the danger they present. If a western or eastern Diamond Back Rattlesnake had to get out and bite someone, the person would die as there is no anti venom in the country for it.
I surely would never take my child to a snake park where most of venomous snake tanks aren’t even locked. There has been no responsibility taken for the actions at Hunyani.
So ask yourself this question: How can a owner of a snake park allow young, inexperienced children to feed or to go near venomous snakes, yet alone how could parents be so naïve to allow their kids to go to this park and think they are safe there?
I had recently acquired 2 African Rock pythons from one of Clives employee’s, The employee is a representation of the park so is a representation of Clive Reid. He had sold these two African rock pythons with no permit. I had heard Clive saying to someone that it’s so hard to get permits and I must just be careful and not tell anyone. I know of a person that Clive had offered permits to last year and is still waiting for the permits for the African Rocks to this very day.
I believe that half the reptiles Clive has in his possession are illegal and he requires permits, yet Clive has done nothing to try and obtain permits. Only recently after his collection has been stolen and returned and police, community etc aware of what reptiles he keeps, has he recently tried very hard to obtain permits for all his illegal animals.
All this information will be investigated and Nature Conservation, SPCA and Tops must have an explanation as to why and how Clive has gotten away with all this for the past few years. There are people like Arno that have tried to close Clive down, but with the contacts that Clive has within the police and with Nature Conservation they have not succeeded.
Steven from Reptilians in Bryanston. Steven I am sorry I heard what you had to say to the newspaper, I just hope that you will stop being two faced. I have got a few people especially some of your ex staff to state that you have been dealing with selling of Nile Crocodile eggs. I hope you will start doing things properly and start making a success of dealing with exotic reptiles and not back door illegal reptiles.
I feel sorry for the people that have donated their reptiles to Clive’s reptile park. I am sorry to have to inform you but if I were you I would go and check on the care of your animals.
Shabir ( a very well known vet in Edenvale) a very good friend of mine that looks after all my reptiles when the “accused” cant help me. Clive has often told me of cases of his reptiles dieing in his care. (A reticulated python especially). Clive has told me that if I take my reptiles to Shabir they die. I have been going to Shabir for 5 years and I have never had this problem nor has the accused or any of my friends. We have great respect for Shabir. Wesley and Clive had recently taken a forest cobra and a cotton mouth to Shabir because the snakes had an absyss. With the knowledge I have on reptiles, I know that an absyss is caused from one snake biting another in most circumstances. The conditions of the snakes are poor, the feeding of Clives snakes are poor and the living conditions of the snakes are extremely poor. The snakes have no space to move and no proper heating. There is only so much Shabir can do. Shabir if you read this please choose your customers carefully.
I would just like to state that BushViper on this forum, you have no right to name the accused. Your ideas and your stupid feedback on what the accused supposedly wanted to do, I think you are really young and stupid. Only the people involved can explain what they wanted and what they intended. You run a forum which I hope you soon come to the realization that your comments and your understanding needs proof and understanding. I hope you will give my friend a written apology as soon as this is over otherwise you have opened yourself up to defamation of character which will be pursued.
I suggest you tell everyone who gave you the names of the accused because searching the internet I can find no Beeld article stipulating any of the accused names’ as you mentioned in your post. Please provide us with a link to the 'supposed' Beeld article.
People from the snake community please we need to stick together and we need to keep our reptiles safe from people that destroy our hobby and our passions. I hope that people can start realizing that the people using snakes to make a living is as bad as a circus abusing the animals, especially Hunyani Reptile Park.
We as a community can’t support people being irresponsible or neglecting the reptiles we love so much. Now is the time for all of us to stand together and fight for our beliefs. All the snake parks and all the zoo’s neglect our reptiles and we need to start getting explanations as to why they get permits and we don’t. Having friends in high places means nothing. Nature Conservation, Tops and SPCA needs to find a way to offer permits to the people that can look after reptiles the way the reptiles deserve to be looked after.