It was set to be the show-stopper on the final night of Fashfest, but a trip down the runway by a python has been stopped by the ACT government.
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The reptile was meant to feature in the All Eyes On Us show on Saturday night, but ACT Licensing and Compliance in Territory and Municipal Services will not grant a permit to display the python.
A spokeswoman for Fashfest said the application had been denied because the use of the python did not fall under the educational category, and it therefore meant the animal was being used as a circus.
Exotic animals were controversially banned from performing in circuses in the ACT about 20 years ago.
The Animal Welfare Act expressly names bears, elephants, giraffes, primates and felines other than domestic cats as prohibited animals, but does not specifically mention snakes. It also covers ''any animal prescribed by regulation''.
However, a spokeswoman from TAMS said the decision had been made based on the Nature Conservation Act, which states that reptiles can only be used for educational or scientific purposes.
All Eyes On Us creator Ashani Madola had the idea to use the python to show the concept behind her collection.
''It's for fearless women, so what better way to show fearless women than carrying a python,'' she said.
Madola is a fairly new addition to the Canberra fashion scene, having moved from Dubai in August last year. ''When I compare there to here, Canberra is more with nature,'' she said. ''I can see more trees and animals. So I wanted to combine that element with my collection - giving something from nature to the collection.''
Canberra business Reptiles Inc was booked by Fashfest to supply the python. Reptiles Inc owner Peter Child said he was set to use his biggest snake, Fluffy the olive python, which weighed about 20 kilograms and measured almost four metres.
He said he understood why TAMS had made the decision not to let the python appear.
''Even though it would be up there for only five minutes and wouldn't do the animal any great harm, the fact of the matter is, you need to get permission to be on that site on that day,'' he said.
The company holds mobile shows with reptiles around Canberra, including fetes, shopping-centre exhibits and open days, but every performance has to be licensed.
''Because the python was there to be basically on a model and on a runway, no matter how we looked at it, there was no way we could make it look [like] being there for anything other than entertainment value,'' he said. ''If I had gone on to the stage and given a talk or a lecture about pythons, it would have been acceptable.''
While Madola would have liked the decision to go the other way, she said her model would be the most disappointed.
''She's actually from Sydney,'' she said. ''She travelled all the way just to do this fashion show.
''She was really excited when I asked her and said she'd love to do it. She wasn't scared. She'll be very disappointed.''
