Zimbabwean jailed for nine years for eating python meat

Reuters
An Indian rock python drinks water inside its enclosure in a zoo during a hot day in the northern Indian city of Lucknow in a file photo. REUTERS/Pawan Kumar

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - A Zimbabwean man has been jailed for nine years for eating python, a protected species, a Zimbabwean daily reported on Friday. Archwell Maramba said he had been eating the snakemeat for its medicinal value. "I wanted to eat the python to cure my spine and since I ate my first python I have seen remarkable improvement," NewsDay quoted Maramba as saying during his court case. Acting on a tipoff, police found the 58-year-old drying snakeskin and python meat stashed in his house.