New Zealand's snake-free status threatened
© 2000 Reuters Limited
September 7, 2000
WELLINGTON - New Zealand is in danger of losing its legendary snake-free status after the discovery of another live serpent, an environmental group said.
The snake, a venomous eastern small-eyed snake common on the Australian east coast, was found in a shipping container loaded with used car batteries from Australia at Petone, near Wellington, on Sunday. It has since been killed.
The previous three snakes found this year were all located in port areas.
In March, a poisonous eastern brown snake was found and killed at Petone, near a storage park with containers also filled with used car batteries from Brisbane.
"A snake invasion of New Zealand seems inevitable," the Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society of New Zealand, the country's biggest conservation group, said in a statement.
The society said snakes were a threat to native birds such as the flightless kiwi, which evolved in the absence of predators.
"Containers are a biosecurity nightmare. They provide a safe, secure environment for the distribution of alien species around the planet," society director Kevin Smith said.
The society wants the government to enforce tougher controls on containers and suspend trade with exporters found to be sending containers contaminated with pests.
Most of New Zealand's pests have been introduced, one of the most damaging being possums which destroy vast tracts of native forest every year.