[Solved] Overturning a court order

Hi there

It's an unusual situation and not one I've come across before!

You've got a couple of options, you can apply for a variation of the existing order, or if it was just the keeping of snakes that you want to change, you can apply for a Specific Issue Order.

Either way you would have to attempt mediation first, to see if you can't sort it out between yourselves. If that fails the mediator would sign off the form to allow you to apply to court.

It's such a pity that you can't reach agreement over this issue, as you have lots of contact with your daughter and your family also....court might sour your relationship with your ex, which could affect your contact.

Best of luck

Thank you so much for your reply. My ex failed to turn up for mediation and yes I unfortunately know that this is going to have a negative impact on me seeing my child. ..keeping snakes has been my passion for well a lifetime and it's been hard giving them up for 7 years . I have a court date following my submission of specific issue order. Subsequently my ex has filed claims of domestic abuse/ physiological harm. I'm in shock it's got to this point . It was at.my ex's instance that the issue be returned to court if I wanted to keep snakes.
I would never do anything to bring harm to my child and have statistics/ evidence to back me up. I know I can not "win" in this situation as a win in court will result in me having worse relations.
I've never heard of anyone being told.not to.keep.a certain pet or have an involvement in a hobby prohibited so am unsure how the path ahead is likely to flow. In the face of pretty strong evidence that there is no harm to the child would a judge still rule in favour of the mother?
Feels good to be able to voice concerns here. Thanks again

I would hope not, but it's impossible to predict outcome...you would just have to put your case strongly, provide information and evidence that you can keep the snakes appropriately and illustrate that there is no danger to your child, in fact she would benefit from learning about them and how to care for them.

As far as the allegations she has made, when does she allege they happened...if you've been apart for over seven years, I don't see how she can be taken seriously....if she felt you were a risk why didn't she address it during the previous court case and why would she allow your daughter to stay over with you so much if she felt there was a risk...these are all points you can make.

It might be a good idea to prepare a brief position statement for your first hearing, just to give the court a better idea of the current situation, how much you have your daughter and what you would like the court to do.

Just a thought, what type of snakes are they? If they aren't constrictors or venomous (about the extent of my knowledge) then it's no different to any other pet, or possibly even safer (I'm a dog lover, and my dogs are softies, but I still wouldn't leave them unattended with a small child). If they are "hazardous", then I would have thought that assurances to the court about how they are kept should be sufficient.

the allegation of harm I think will just be dismissed. She is alleging that I asked my daughter to not tell her I had got an empty cage in the lounge and this has caused a great deal of emotional distress. I did actually get a snake cage and did tell my daughter I was hoping to get a snake but needed to talk to mummy first....The mother has stated because of this she wants me to go on a parenting course/receive councelling....My daughter has on numerous occasions said her mum has told her that snakes eat little girls, that I can't be trusted to have snakes...a lot of stuff that I'm not happy about and found difficult to hear but I have ignored as I dont want my little girl to be caught up in all of this.
In terms of are the snakes dangerous...the snakes I want to keep would never be handled by my daughter. They are not poisonous or able to cause harm to children they are essentially too timid and they would be stressed by contact.
I just want the order removing as there is a theoretical risk with any forna . Her own mothers dog mauled her and she has been left with permanent scarring on her face but whilst I was livid I knew this was accident and that her mother would from that point take any precautions to keep her safe. I would not have wanted a court order preventing her from being with the dog. She goes horse riding several times a week- statistics show its more dangerous than riding a motorbike but I want my daughter to have as many opportunities as she can. Her mother loves horses and I am happy she gets to share in that hobby. I am asking to be able t resume my life long hobby - I want to ne able to keep snakes with all of the sensible precautions - locked vivs, correct husbandry - washing hands after every contact...the same level of precaution as wearing a riding hat. I want my daughter to have the opportunity to learn about my hobby. She may well have no interest and thats absolutely fine .
The mothers stated concern is that my daughter would die of salmonella - snakes do carry salmonella. As do every other reptile and the majority of domestic pets (cats/dogs/horses) eggs....her mother agreed to me getting her a tortoise for christmas - they carry salmonella but I ensure she washes her hands. I think the point I am trying to get across is that I believe my ex knows how much my hobby means to me and is using that as a kind of punishment but I dont want to start a war. I simply want to address any concerns - I believe I am the only person in this country currently banned from having contact with snakes.
I grew up in south Africa and worked in snake parks giving talks to the public, I have a food hygine certificate allowing me to prepare and sell on meat to the public - I'm a member of the internal herp society....I'm well read on my hobby and know any associated risk and take part in best practice.

really appreciate your thoughts on all this

I suppose the bottom line is that you present your arguments and safeguards to the courts, and include statistics such as the one regarding horse riding. It's up to the court to decide, but if you can persuade them up front that it's a safe environemt for your daughter to be in, and maybe assurances or undertakings to the court that the snakes won't be out of their vivarium at any time when your daughter is there, a court may well not see it as an issue.