HERALD SUN (Australia) 06 May 06 Snake keeper rattled (Mark Moor)
An assault on Victoria's underbelly of illegal exotic reptile imports has netted a man keeping a pair of American snakes in his home.
Department of Sustainability and Environment officers swooped on the man's Melton home on Thursday and found a two-metre boa constrictor and a one-metre corn snake.
DSE senior investigator Keith Larner said that, despite a 2004 amnesty for those keeping illegal animals, people were still risking up to $110,000 in fines and five years' jail for keeping them as pets.
"Corn snakes tolerate a wide variety of environmental conditions and breed readily, while boas can spread disease to our native python population and prey on Australian wildlife."
Mr Larner said the man could expect to face charges of possessing a prohibited animal once the investigation was completed about four weeks from now.
Snake keeper rattled