PORT MACQUARIE NEWS (Australia) 10 January 11 Hastings snakes hit black market
The illegal capture of native snakes is thriving in the Hastings area.
Hunters from around the state and beyond are coming to Port Macquarie to catch wild snake species exclusive to the Mid-North Coast.
They then sell them elsewhere.
National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) ranger Andrew Marshall said there was a busy black market for snakes.
“Australian snakes are much sought-after overseas,” he said.
“People arrange substantial trips north to catch them.”
Mr Marshall said Port Macquarie was known for its Stephens Banded Snakes and colourful Intergrade Pythons.
“Here, they [Intergrade Pythons] have a distinctively Mid-North Coast colour form you don’t find anywhere else,” he said.
“It’s hard to replicate in captivity.”
Nurses caught one smuggler red-handed when he arrived at Port Macquarie Base Hospital with a snake bite in October.
Hospital nurses alerted Mr Marshall when the man arrived seriously ill after being bitten by a highly venomous Stephens Banded Snake.
Mr Marshall claimed the NSW man, who picked up the snake in bushland in the Camden Haven area, had likely come from out of town to snare the snake for sale.
“There were errors in his story and it was pretty obvious he had commercial plans for it,” said Mr Marshall.
Mr Marshall said the man, who was around 50 years old, did not face charges because he did not admit to being bitten while trying to catch the snake.
“If he made the admission, he’d be facing court and there’d be legal consequences,” he said.
It is illegal to catch snakes in the wild, if they are kept as pets or sold.
Penalties for keeping snakes without a licence range from a $300 on-the-spot fine for protected species to $220,000 and up to two years’ imprisonment for endangered fauna.
Mr Marshall said up to 20 people were caught doing just that in Port Macquarie every year usually as a result of a tip-off from the public.
He said very large quantities or reptiles and even exotic snakes like boa constrictors and
American corn snakes have been found during home inspections in Port Macquarie.
“We confiscate them all,” said Mr Marshall.
Hastings snakes hit black market