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Snakes hidden inside garden gnomes

Couldn't they have just sent them back?
That really bothers me, it's just as bad as smuggling them, because custom ends up killing them anyway...
 
Corny Noob said:
Couldn't they have just sent them back?
That really bothers me, it's just as bad as smuggling them, because custom ends up killing them anyway...
Click to expand...
I can understand when the "imports" are going to a place such as Australia, where the majority of indigenous species are found nowhere else on the planet. Australia is some sort of "alien life force" planet, containing thousands of species of animals from mammal to reptile that you will not find in the wild anywhere else in the world. Couple that with the ever-growing problem of feral animals(rats, goats, pigs, camels, dogs, and un-counted numbers of reptiles and amphibians) that have already been distributed throughout the country, and the amount of damage those introduced species have already caused to native habitats, and you have a country that is struggling to maintain an incredible amount of diverse habitat and wildlife...none of which can be found anywhere else in the world.

You can't really blame them for wanting to protect their native species. Blame the people that attempted to illegally smuggle the animals into the country, not the people doing their best to protect an already extremely fragile(and widely polluted) wildlife ecosystem...

Yea...it sucks that the snakes were put down. But in reality, I think the people that shipped the packages should be tried and punished right alongside the people the package was being sent to...
 
tyflier said:
I can understand when the "imports" are going to a place such as Australia, where the majority of indigenous species are found nowhere else on the planet. Australia is some sort of "alien life force" planet, containing thousands of species of animals from mammal to reptile that you will not find in the wild anywhere else in the world. Couple that with the ever-growing problem of feral animals(rats, goats, pigs, camels, dogs, and un-counted numbers of reptiles and amphibians) that have already been distributed throughout the country, and the amount of damage those introduced species have already caused to native habitats, and you have a country that is struggling to maintain an incredible amount of diverse habitat and wildlife...none of which can be found anywhere else in the world.

You can't really blame them for wanting to protect their native species. Blame the people that attempted to illegally smuggle the animals into the country, not the people doing their best to protect an already extremely fragile(and widely polluted) wildlife ecosystem...

Yea...it sucks that the snakes were put down. But in reality, I think the people that shipped the packages should be tried and punished right alongside the people the package was being sent to...
Click to expand...

Don't get me wrong, I 100% understand why they are the way they are with their customs and their fear of new species.
I just wish that instead of destroying animals in customs they just sent them right back the way they came in that's all. :shrugs:
 
tyflier said:
But in reality, I think the people that shipped the packages should be tried and punished right alongside the people the package was being sent to...
Click to expand...

I agree. Sadly though, any charges that do fall on these peoples' heads will likely be to do with flouting shipping laws, and have little to do with the animals themselves - reptiles seem scarcely covered by animal protection laws for some reason. You can imagine how the focus of the article might have been different if someone had stuffed a puppy in to a gnome and posted that...
 
"Here at Travelocity our clients ask us if they'll encounter any snakes in thier hotel rooms. Of course not, don't be silly MMMFFRRMMFFFgag......."
 
Corny Noob said:
Don't get me wrong, I 100% understand why they are the way they are with their customs and their fear of new species.
I just wish that instead of destroying animals in customs they just sent them right back the way they came in that's all. :shrugs:
Click to expand...
Oh, I understand what you mean. And I agree...it sucks that these animals are put down because of some stupid human being foolish and breaking the law. The animals don't deserve to be punished...

But in reality, if customs officials need to "Return to Sender" every package that was illegally sent, and bypassed official importation laws...they would go broke. Not to mention that the animals would most likely suffer more and still end up dead at the end of the return. At least in this way, we can be reasonably assured that they were put down in an humane manner...I hope...
 
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