Be Kind to Animals?

• Donna Byrne, 53, of Polk County, Florida, was charged with driving under the influence on Nov. 2, but it was her mode of transportation that earned her an animal neglect charge. Byrne was riding her horse, Boduke, down a busy road in Lakeland in the middle of the afternoon. When officers reached Byrne, she was staggering and had red, watery eyes -- explained by her breath alcohol level, which was more than twice the legal limit, Polk County Sheriff's Office spokesman Brian Bruchey told the Orlando Sentinel. Boduke got a ride to the sheriff's Animal Control livestock facility, but Bruchey said he'd most likely be returned to Byrne, whose rap sheet includes cruelty to animals and drug possession. [Orlando Sentinel, 11/3/2017]

• In Darmstadt, Germany, police detained a 19-year-old man on Nov. 7 after they noticed "a significant bulge in his trousers" and discovered he was carrying a baby python in his pants. The unnamed man was carrying on a loud, drunken argument with another man when police were called, reported The Guardian. Officers took the man and the snake to the police station, where the snake was put in a box, and authorities considered whether the "non-species-appropriate transport" could be a violation of animal protection laws. [The Guardian, 11/8/2017]