Photo: Predrag Popovski / Moment / Getty Images
Earlier this month, Higor Fuiza achieved viral stardom when a video showing him surfing in Australia while holding a carpet python. It turns out that kind of fame comes with a price tag…$2,322 to be exact. Fuiza was fined by the Queensland Department of Environment and Science for “taking the reptile out in public without permission.” It turns out that a permit is needed to own “native animals” in Australia, but they can only be removed from their licensed homes for “a trip to the vet, selling or giving the animal to another permit holder, or taking it to an authorized display.” It seems that a surfboard on a beach doesn’t qualify as an “authorized display,” though Fuiza says he’s taken his snake surfing about ten times previously.