Is it OK to let your snakes sunbathe in the park?

A antheral who takes his snakes to sunbathe successful his section parkland has sparked an online statement astir what animals are - and are not - acceptable successful nationalist spaces.

The Friends of Barshaw Park radical said it had been contacted by radical who were disquieted astir idiosyncratic taking up to 20 of the reptiles to the Paisley park.

It urged anyone who saw the snakes to telephone the police.

Far from being horrified, galore locals person defended the snake proprietor - who appears to beryllium a regular visitor.

They said helium was intelligibly doing nary harm and kept his snakes nether power astatine each times, and questioned wherefore the constabulary would request to get involved.

Photos of the antheral posted connected societal media amusement him happily posing with the snakes draped astir his cervix oregon lasting adjacent to them arsenic they slithered connected the grass.

But the Friends radical said successful a station connected its Facebook leafage that it had been told by the section assembly that "no-one has support to bring snakes into Barshaw Park".

It added: "The constabulary petition that if you spot anyone successful the parkland with snakes, delight bash not attack the idiosyncratic but telephone the constabulary connected 101 and they volition attend".

A pistillate who responded to the informing said she had met the antheral a mates of times with her kids.

She added: "Really bully guy, answered the 1,001 questions we had astir snakes. The snakes were nether power and enjoying a small sunbathe.

"Can we amusement the aforesaid interest for radical bringing their out-of-control dogs to the park?"

Another said the snake proprietor was "really bully and afloat of smiles" and that immoderate concerns astir him were "OTT".

One section wrote that the antheral lone had 2 snakes erstwhile she saw him - 1 astir his limb and different connected the writer - and that she had to pass a passing household not to basal connected 1 of them.

Another pondered what paper header writers would marque of the snakes going for a thrust connected the park's miniature railway, portion idiosyncratic other opened up a 2nd beforehand successful the statement by claiming to person erstwhile seen radical with ferrets successful the park.

Support for the snakes was not universal, however, with imaginable information issues besides being raised and 1 societal media idiosyncratic responding simply: "Nope. Ban it. Ban him. No nary no."

Jamie Kinlochan, a regular visitant to Barshaw, told BBC Scotland's Drivetime programme that astir radical helium had spoken to seemed blessed to stock their greenish spaces with snakes - truthful agelong arsenic they were not venomous.

He added: "People have, overmuch to my surprise, been loving this.

"I had ne'er thought astir it before, but I conjecture erstwhile it travel to things similar dogs successful the parkland we are benignant of chill astir that adjacent though they tin inactive contiguous immoderate signifier of information if not good looked aft oregon not treated properly.

"I conjecture people's arguments present are not immoderate antithetic and I astir apt hold with that."

A spokesperson for Renfrewshire Council confirmed: "Non home pets specified arsenic snakes should not beryllium brought into our parks and consent has not been provided for this to instrumentality place."