Gold Coast surfing snake owner slapped with $2322 fine

Wildlife officers have caught up with a man who was filmed surfing with his pet snake at a Gold Coast beach. Find out why he was fined for the act.

A man who was filmed surfing at a Gold Coast beach with his pet snake has been slapped with a $2322 fine for breaching his permit.

Footage shared to social media earlier this month showed surfer Higor Fiuza and his pet python, Shiva, catching a wave at Rainbow Bay.

Wildlife officers from the Department of Environment and Science have since caught up with Mr Fiuza and fined him for his actions.

Surfer Higor Fiuza went viral after footage of him and his pet carpet python surfing at Rainbow Bay, near Snapper Rocks, was shared online. Picture: Instagram/ @skymonkey5

“The man was brought to our attention when he appeared in local media taking his python into the surf,” Senior wildlife officer Jonathan McDonald said.

“Our investigation found the man had a permit to keep native animals, but he was issued with a penalty infringement notice for the breaching section 88a of the Nature Conservation Act.

“Permit holders are not allowed to take animals from their licenced premises unless taking them to a vet or, selling or giving the animal to another permit holder or taking it to an authorised display.”

Surfer Higor Fiuza with his pet Shiva. Picture: Instagram/ @skymonkey5

Taking native pets out in public could cause them stress or to behave in “unpredictable ways”, the department warned.

“There is also the threat of spreading diseases to native wildlife when people take captive-bred reptiles out in public,” Mr McDonald said.

“Snakes are obviously cold-blooded animals, and while they can swim, reptiles generally avoid water.

“The python would have found the water to be extremely cold, and the only snakes that should be in the ocean are sea snakes.”

Mr Fiuza was also given a warning for not updating his python ownership online record book.

Originally published as Gold Coast surfing snake owner slapped with $2322 fine