Exotic snakes, many poisonous, are slipping unseen into Australia by plane, ship and the mail, prompting a new plan to stop more coming before they threaten native flora and fauna.
"Snakes on a plane are a real
phenomenon," said Michelle Christy, the facilitator of the Invasive Animals Co-operative Research Centre's incursions response. "In the last week, a snake from Brisbane hitchhiked to New Zealand, while another was accidentally left behind by a passenger on a flight to Alaska," she said.More WA News Videos
Reptiles seized from Baldvis
WA Police have charged a 32 year old man after searching a Baldivis property where a number of reptiles were seized. Vision: Department of Parks and Wildlife.
Some snakes arrive in Australia accidentally in a suitcase or a packing container, but many more are being smuggled as part of the growing illegal trade in pets. Some can survive three months in a shipping container without water, Dr Christy said, and even tropical snakes can survive in the cold in a ship's hold.
"A range of exotic snakes are illegally kept in Australia and now and then they are found in the wild, often by a member of the public," she said.
In 2015, 13 live snakes, up to 1.5m long, were intercepted at Melbourne's international mail facility during routine inspections, and 30 corn snakes were also seized. Last year, a two-metre South American boa constrictor found on The Esplanade at Surfers Paradise was accidentally released after authorities identified it as a native python.
And in Perth last July, a 32-year-old man was found in possession of three tiger snakes, two boa constrictors, 18 pythons, a dugite, a mulga snake, a brown tree snake, three corn snakes and an eastern water dragon.
Adelaide University's Associate Professor Phill Cassey said the greatest threat comes from the growing global pet trade in exotic species - particularly reptiles. Smuggling and subsequent release of these snakes was increasing in Australia.
"The illegal trade represents a likely source of new alien species to disrupt the local ecosystems and, in the case of venomous snakes, pose a potential threat to humans," he said.
![When snake catcher Barry Goldsmith saw the two-metre-long boa constrictor in a shed in Seaford, he "just picked her up, ...](http://web.archive.org./web/20180418194110im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/v/a/z/f/j/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gvaq7r.png/1491095347905.jpg)
Research by Professor Cassey published last year found of the 28 alien reptile species illegally traded in Victoria between 1999 and 2012, five had the potential to establish themselves in the wild if they escaped or were released. More than a third of these illegal reptile species are highly venomous snakes (10 out of 28 species).
Because snakes are retiring by nature, they are nearly impossible to detect.
![The job is about safety and security, including handling snakes that escape mid-flight. Pictured, Ravn Alaska flight ...](http://web.archive.org./web/20180418194110im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/v/a/s/j/j/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gvaq7r.png/1494983186603.jpg)
"Once a snake is established, it is nearly impossible to remove them," Dr Christy said. "We don't want to follow the path of Florida, Guam or Japan, where invasive snakes have caused catastrophic ecological and economic damage."
The new plan provides tools to help biosecurity experts and snake catchers identify snakes and capture them as quickly as possible. There is also a public hotline: 1800 084 881.
![Snakes recovered from a man's house in Perth in 2016.](http://web.archive.org./web/20180418194110im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/p/y/v/5/8/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gvaq7r.png/1491095347905.jpg)
The plan focuses on five families of snakes most likely to establish themselves with detrimental impacts to the environment, human health and agricultural industries. These include the Burmese python (Python bivittatus), yellow anaconda (Eunectes notaeus), and puff adder (Bitis arietans).
Snake on a plane!
— Primary Industries (@MPI_NZ) March 27, 2017
We've snared a live snake that hitchhiked to NZ on a private jet!https://t.co/dVoZf9WYiq #biosecurity @AKL_Airport pic.twitter.com/3EvTp4DDhT
![It's not unusual for snakes to be found on aircraft.](http://web.archive.org./web/20180418194110im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/v/a/s/j/h/image.related.articleLeadNarrow.300x0.gvaq7r.png/1491095347905.jpg)
In Guam, where Dr Christy studied the impact of the brown tree snake, nobody realised these snakes were killing native birds, triggering a series of events that damaged native forrests and nearby coral reefs. By the mid-1980s, the snake had eliminated 10 of 12 forest bird species native to the island, including the Guam kingfisher and the Guam flycatcher, found a study in the journal Nature. In Florida, USA, the invasive boa population - started when pet snakes were released when they grew too big - has persisted for 30 years in a small bushland area, with only a few snakes captured a year. One 40 kg boa lived undetected for three years on a small, built-up island in the Florida Keys. "They're amazingly good at staying hidden for a long time, even in built up areas," said Dr Robert Reed, a US government expert who researches invasive snakes in Florida.