Someone tried to mail a box of deadly horrors to Australia, and geez it's creepy
Working in customs comes with the risk of unearthing pretty awful things.
For example, Australia's Border Force found a host of spiders and snakes in a box marked as "2 pair shoes," mailed from Northern Europe -- because Australia doesn't have enough spiders and snakes already.
The shipment was discovered on Mar. 14 when officers in Melbourne x-rayed the package and found there were live reptiles inside, although not all were alive.
Inside the box there were six venomous Wagler's temple vipers, which are native to southeast Asia; three ball pythons, two hognose snakes, nine various tarantulas and three scorpions. Creepy.
They're species that pose a "high biosecurity risk" to Australia as they may carry pests and diseases not present in the country. The remaining live snakes and spiders will have to be euthanised, a spokesperson from the Australian Border Force confirmed.
"This detection appears to be a clear attempt to get around the rules that are in place to protect us all," Lyn O'Connell from the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources, said in a statement.
"Anyone who claims to be an animal lover and conceals reptiles or arachnids in small packages and sends them through the mail does not have the best interests of the animals -- or Australia -- at heart."
Nor do they have the interests of the arachnophobes or ophidiophobics in customs at heart. SMDH.
Topics Animals
