Snakes, dogs and ostriches: politicians who fell victim to animal attacks

French MEP Manon Aubry announced on social media on Monday that she had been hospitalized after being bitten by a viper, though she appeared smiling in her post despite what she described as complications from the poisoning. She noted that fewer than 300 snakebite cases are recorded in France each year.

Aubry is far from the only politician to have suffered an animal attack. Jersey politician Inna Gardiner was bitten by a Malayan Pit Viper last year while on holiday in Thailand. West Virginia politician Doug Skaff was bitten twice by venomous snakes in 2024 while removing his own campaign signs.

Dogs, wolves and birds

During a 2023 visit to Chișinău, Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen was bitten by a rescue dog belonging to Moldovan President Maia Sandu. Sandro Garibaldi, a League regional councillor in Liguria, was bitten by a wolf earlier this year while trying to stop it attacking sheep.

Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel was startled but not bitten by Russian President Vladimir Putin's dog in 2007, and was later pecked by a rainbow lorikeet at a bird park in 2021. Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was bitten by a rhea while under COVID quarantine, and former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was attacked by an ostrich at a Texas safari park last year.

A more serious case dates back to 1920, when Greece's King Alexander died at age 27 after an infected wound from a monkey bite.

US presidents and their animal encounters

US presidents seem particularly prone to animal incidents. Jimmy Carter was confronted by an aggressive swamp rabbit in 1979, and George W. Bush was lunged at by a turkey during a 2001 Thanksgiving pardoning ceremony. In 2015, before becoming president, Donald Trump was nearly bitten by a bald eagle during a photo shoot.