Chinese man bitten by dead snake he killed for Lunar New Year meal

A Chinese man was taken to hospital after being bitten by a snake he had already killed and was planning to eat for a Lunar New Year meal, mainland media reported.

A reflex in the jaws of the dead, non-venomous oriental rat snake led to it biting the 60-year-old man as he was trying to skin it, the news website Qnsb.com reported.

The man, surnamed Wang, had spotted the 70cm-long snake, about as thick as a man’s finger, curled up on the ground as he was taking a walk with his family on Saturday in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province.

Wang thought the snake would make “some nice soup”, the report said.

He killed the snake after hitting it with a stick and a stone and then took it home in a plastic bag.

However, as he was trying to skin it a reflex in the snake’s jaws led to it biting his left hand. His palm became swollen and Wang became dizzy, the report said.

Wang’s family rushed him to hospital and took along the dead snake for doctors to identify.