Deadly black widow spider found in Kent

Its venom is 15 times more deadly than a rattlesnake, it devours males after mating - and it's looking for a new home ... in Kent. A black widow spider was discovered by workers importing cars from the United States at Chatham Docks at the weekend. It was trapped and taken to a Maidstone veterinary surgery in a Chinese takeaway carton.



Mark Rowland, the owner of Trinity Vet Centre and an expert in zoological medicine says he has never had to deal with something like this before. He said: "The first thing we thought when it was brought in was: 'Thank god there are not any holes in this'. At least it was secure. The thing about Chinese takeaway cartons is that they have got firm lids you can put on.

"We just had to transfer it to a more secure container and double box it so it would not cause any problems." A bite from a black widow spider can cause muscle pain and spasms, nausea, vomiting, a coma and even death. Now he is searching for somewhere, or someone, to take the spider.


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"I have started with the local zoological collections - I have contacted London Zoo. I have got quite a few contacts in the zoological world so we should be able to find somewhere for her. Wherever she goes they will have to have a dangerous wild animal licence because she is a potentially dangerous animal."