Broad-headed Snakes were collected in large numbers from the 1950s to the 1970s for pets (H. Cogger in Shine et al. 1998). A mark-recapture study carried out in Morton National Park, NSW from 1992 to 2002 found that the population of snakes was stable over 1992–96 but declined dramatically in 1997, coincident with evidence of illegal collecting, possibly stimulated by a government amnesty that allowed pet owners to obtain permits for illegally held reptiles. In 1997, 85% of adult females disappeared from the population, and the data indicate that reptile collectors were causing the local extinction of Broad-headed Snakes from the study site (Webb et al. 2002c).



Despite all of the other threats, that seems to be the most telling part of the article you cited.



85% of females gone in ONE YEAR, attributed to and coincidental with illegal collecting activity for the pet trade. That's horrible.

[ Reply To This Message ] [ Subscribe to this Thread ] [ Show Entire Thread ]