Australia is well known for its wildlife, but locals were stunned by the sight of one particular snake at sea near Sydney.
What is going on?
Local station 9 News Sydney shared a video showing a large red-tailed boa constrictor near a boat launch in the Sylvania area.
“These snakes are native to Brazil,” said the reporter. “So the assumption is that this was someone’s pet, it got loose, and now it is taking itself on quite the adventure.”
The news report added that the species is not known to be aggressive and is actually considered “fairly docile.” But its compulsive abilities can be dangerous, and people have been warned to keep their distance and contact the authorities if they spot the creature.
Why does a non-native species in Australia matter?
As 9 News coverage mentioned, the boa constrictor poses a threat to Australia’s biosecurity. It is also illegal to have the animal as a pet in the country as a matter of protection of native species and local ecosystems, explained ABC News Australia.
The Australian Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry also described the economic significance of maintaining biosecurity — a term that generally refers to policies and procedures designed to safeguard humans, animals, food, agriculture and the environment from potential biological hazards.
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“Our biosecurity system protects the export industries of agriculture, forestry and fisheries worth $51 billion; a tourism sector worth $50 billion; environmental assets worth more than $5.7 trillion; and more than 1.6 million jobs,” DAFF explains. The department also notes that maintaining a healthy environment allows better protection of the culture “of our wider community and First Nations people.”
The red-tailed boa constrictor in this case created the risk of becoming an invasive predator and throwing the local ecosystem out of balance. This was also the risk of bringing diseases, such as the deadly disease of the body of inclusion, to the populations of native snakes, according to ABC News Australia.
What is being done about non-native species?
A few days after the snake was first spotted, ABC News Australia reported that it was successfully captured by Shire Snake Wranglers, a company licensed to handle snakes.
More broadly, Australia has the country’s Biosecurity Act 2015 to back efforts to protect both native and non-native species from potentially harmful situations.
Meanwhile, last year, a joint initiative by DAFF and CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency, launched the Catalysing Australia’s Biodiversity project to invest $55 million over six years to further innovate biosecurity measures. This came in addition to the $1 billion already committed to the cause.
In addition to formal efforts to prevent animal trafficking and the spread of invasive species, awareness campaigns to educate the public about the many dangers of buying and selling animals outside the law can be helpful in supporting a culture shift away from having exotic but illegal pets — including those that have the potential to escape into local habitats.
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