Python dish raises ire of animal group

LONDON, Oct. 28 (UPI) -- Animal welfare groups have criticized a London restaurant for serving python in a coconut sauce.

Andrew Tyler of Animal Aid condemned restaurant Tooties, saying snakes killed for human food are "conscious for an hour after they are crudely decapitated," The Sun reported Tuesday.

"There is this constant lookout for new species to exploit and kill -- it is a sick downward spiral," Tyler said.

A Tooties spokesman said of the python dish: "We always look to be innovative."