Snake find 'proves biosecurity'

A dead snake found at a Waimauku garden centre in West Auckland proved New Zealand's border controls were effective, Acting Biosecurity Minister Jim Sutton said yesterday.

The snake, a non-venomous "children's python" or liasis childreni, found in coastal and inland northern Australia, had been detected in a bundle of imported railway sleepers at the garden centre on Sunday.

Ministry of Fisheries spokesman John Burton said maggots found on the snake suggested it had been dead for some time.

"It's no surprise it was dead because the container had been fumigated," he said.

Earlier this year, MAF staff had to destroy three live snakes - one in Wellington, one at Lyttelton and one in Auckland - which had survived biosecurity border controls.