Surfer Fined for Taking Pet Python on Wave Ride

An Australian surfer has been fined $1,500 for taking his python out in public without a permit. This decision followed viral videos showing him and his pet snake riding the waves off the Gold Coast.

Higor Fiuza told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) that he and his three-year-old bredli carpet python, Shiva, "have gone surfing together at least 10 times."

However, the Queensland Department of Environment and Science began an investigation after videos of the pair surfaced online.

"Our investigation found the man had a permit to keep native animals, but he was issued with a Penalty Infringement Notice for breaching section 88a of the Nature Conservation Act," senior wildlife officer John McDonald told the outlet.

The Department clarified that Fiuza's permit only allows him "to take his snake outside of its 'licensed premises' for trips to the vet or to sell the snake to another license holder."

To bring the snake out in public, one purportedly requires a separate permit from the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries.

While Fiuza didn't provide comments on the fine, in an earlier ABC story, he said, "Usually when she doesn't like something she starts hissing but she doesn't hiss [in the water], she is always chill."

He wasn't concerned about losing Shiva in the waves because "she hold my neck really tight."

Fiuza added that the water "helps cool Shiva down when it's hot outside."

McDonald pointed out that most reptiles typically avoid water, stating, "The python would have found the water to be extremely cold, and the only snakes that should be in the ocean are sea snakes."