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POLICE FISH OUT 40KG SNAKE THAT HAD BEEN DUMPED IN RIVER - JUST WEEKS BEFORE MAJOR SWIMMING EVENT. RIVER police have fished out the body of a three metre long python, weighing nearly 40kg,
from the Seine. Officers from the _Brigade fluviale_ were called in after passers-by spotted an animal in the water and discovered the adult snake in an advanced state of decomposition. The
head was missing. The Préfecture de Police said it was a "sad end for one of these new-style pets". Once they outgrow the house such pets, which are little adapted for life outside
their normal environments, are just dumped - often in the Seine or the Bois de Boulogne. It is not the first time the river police - called _la Fluv'_ - has pulled animals from the
water. Over the years since it was founded in 1900 officers have found cows, calves and sheep. But they also find human bodies - over the past 12 months they have recovered a body nearly
every week. The discovery of the snake at Quai Marcel Dassault, Saint Cloud, is a bit of a shock for those planning to attempt the first Paris Swim - Paris à la Nage - on September 9. This
year's event, the first for years after the water became too polluted, will take a 10km route across the city from the Joséphine Baker swimming pool to André Citroën Park. A 2.5km event
will start from the base of the Eiffel Tower. Photo: Préfecture de Police de Paris