Staff at Glasgow’s Botanic Gardens were left "distressed" after a member of the public dumped three live snakes in one of the glasshouses.
The incident took place at the botanical garden in the West End of the city on Monday afternoon.
The Scottish SPCA confirmed that it was called to the Botanic Gardens about three non-venomous corn snakes that had been found.
An animal rescue officer attended and took the snakes to one of the Scottish SPCA’s animal rescue centres, the animal welfare charity added.
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Glasgow City Council said the snakes were found after “an extensive search”, and criticised the actions of the individual who dumped them for alarming staff at the botanical garden.
A council spokeswoman told The Herald: “An irresponsible individual caused alarm to staff at the Botanic Gardens yesterday by dumping three live snakes in one of the glasshouses.
“The initial sightings caused distress, but luckily, we have a member of staff with knowledge of and experience with snakes who quickly identified them as non-venomous corn snakes. The snakes were quickly captured after an extensive search and the SSPCA was called.”
In 2014, a California kingsnake was found in the palm house at the Botanic Gardens.
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