British diplomats paid $16,000 to re-stuff snake
Nov 1, 2012, 9:47 PM
LONDON (AP) – At a time when U.K. politicians are trying to squeeze budgets, British diplomats’ big bill for re-stuffing an ancient anaconda has left some observers hissing.
A freedom of information request filed by British politics blog Guido Fawkes has revealed that the Foreign Office forked out 10,000 pounds ($16,000) to restore “Albert,” a stuffed anaconda believed to have been donated to a British official in what is now Guyana during the 19th century.
British diplomats defended their decision to re-stuff the venerable serpent, saying “Albert” was an asset to Britain’s diplomatic corps and was due for “essential maintenance.”
But the Taxpayer’s Alliance, a lobbying group, said diplomats might have been better off sending the snake to a museum.
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