# Four snakes ground Qantas plane



## News Bot (Apr 16, 2009)

*Published:* 16-Apr-09 09:12 AM
*Source:* AAP via NEWS.com.au

FOUR baby snakes grounded a Qantas plane in Melbourne after they made a doomed bid for freedom during a flight from Alice Springs.

*Read More...*


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## gumby56 (Apr 16, 2009)

lol


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## squishi (Apr 16, 2009)

i feel sorry for whomever was waiting to recieve them.


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## ratter00 (Apr 16, 2009)

Just read that Qantas have killed them.......treat snakes just like their employees.

Quote from article : 

Mr Aston said that after establishing that the species was not threatened or endangered, the aircraft was fumigated to kill the four pythons.


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## herptrader (Apr 16, 2009)

Trying to continue the discussion from this thread http://www.aussiepythons.com/forum/interesting-links-and-stories/snakes-on-a-plane-killed-108465 to here.


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## herptrader (Apr 16, 2009)

The basic rule I apply to shipping container design is that it must be able to withstand being stood on.

Additionally I usually screw the lid on such that it is less likely to be tampered with en-route because a screw driver is required to open it. (I do a bit of cabinet making so I always seem to have suitable scrap to make a suitable secure box our of play and or chip board.)

The second line of security is to secure the animal(s) in a cloth bag.


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## herptrader (Apr 16, 2009)

When they are shipped AAE may only initially know that they are reptiles. This could mean anything from a blue tongue to a taipan. They are probably obligated to assume the latter and take appropriate action. The sticker they put on the outside has a picture of a turtle used to indicate all reptiles. (From memory the other pictures are of a dog, cat and a bird. One of the pictures is circled or ticked to indicate the contents.)

That said NT export permits must accompany the shipment and are only valid for one the day.



ratter00 said:


> Just read that Qantas have killed them.......treat snakes just like their employees.
> 
> Quote from article :
> 
> Mr Aston said that after establishing that the species was not threatened or endangered, the aircraft was fumigated to kill the four pythons.


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## discomat (Apr 16, 2009)

i guess it was easier and cheaper for qantas to have them killed than have them found.


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## Ramsayi (Apr 16, 2009)

Some people think this is amusing? Years ago Virgin used to freight reptiles as well until some goose decided it would be ok to freight a monitor in a foam box.Monitor escaped in the hold,Virgin banned the freighting of reptiles from that day.

It is not inconcievable that Qantas could decide to make the same stance.The cost associated with a plane being delayed for even minutes is astronomical let alone for hours.Funny eh?


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## Stroppy (Apr 16, 2009)

absolutely true about the cost of grounding a plane,, its a shame but in todays economic climate its inevitable that authorities will fumigate rather than trying to find them, imagine those tiny hatchlings and how many inconceivable places they could hide, bit like the old needle in the haystack...... its unfortunate but not surprising


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## snakehandler (Apr 16, 2009)

It has been a policy of AAE that the snakes must be appropraitly boxed before they get transported, unfortunately not all employees take this seriously and allow inappropriate boxes to be used....really the person sending the animals is responsible, however AAE need to have a good look at themselves and realise that it is infact their fault for accepting the animals in an inappropraite container. This could be disasterous for the reptile industry in Australia....they have banned the transport of reptiles in QLD before, this could put the nail in the coffin.

Please people when transporting reptiles use secure boxes and make sure the bags are well sealed. The must be crush proof, secure the lid with screws and do it right from the start....this is not good enough.

I have recieved venomous snakes before that were loose in the box, the box was foam!


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## spilota_variegata (Apr 16, 2009)

I'd like to know who the goose was that sent the pythons in a container that they could get out was. I've sent dozens of snakes from Alice Springs to various places around Australia without any drama. I ensure the package is sturdy, sufficiently taped and that each reptile is put into a secure bag so if the container were to break, they still couldn't escape.


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## Simple (Apr 16, 2009)

Totally irresponsible of the person sending the reptiles. Freighting has become increasingly more difficult in the last couple of years, we don't need it to be made harder. Now 4 snake have paid the price.


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## News Bot (Apr 17, 2009)

*Snakes on a plane force Qantas to ground flight*

*Published:* 17-Apr-09 01:22 AM
*Source:* digg
*Category:* World News

In scenes reminiscent of the 2006 cult film Snakes on a Plane, four of 12 Stimson's pythons escaped during a two and a half hour flight from Alice Springs to Melbourne. 









*Read More...*


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## haymista (Apr 17, 2009)

lol theres only like four other threads about this


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## herptrader (Apr 17, 2009)

The Age version of the story: http://www.theage.com.au/travel/snak...0415-a7h7.html

goes to lengths to point out that they were appropriately packaged. I wonder if somebody tampered with it en route such as a curious handler? 

(As I have said elsewhere when I ship I make it so the package can only be opened with a screw driver and let the recipient know that they will need one to get into it. This discourages the curious.)



snakehandler said:


> It has been a policy of AAE that the snakes must be appropraitly boxed before they get transported, unfortunately not all employees take this seriously and allow inappropriate boxes to be used....really the person sending the animals is responsible, however AAE need to have a good look at themselves and realise that it is infact their fault for accepting the animals in an inappropraite container. This could be disasterous for the reptile industry in Australia....they have banned the transport of reptiles in QLD before, this could put the nail in the coffin.
> 
> Please people when transporting reptiles use secure boxes and make sure the bags are well sealed. The must be crush proof, secure the lid with screws and do it right from the start....this is not good enough.
> 
> I have recieved venomous snakes before that were loose in the box, the box was foam!


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## ozianimals (Apr 17, 2009)

I would like to know who the law will hold responsible for killing endangered and protected wildlife. We have the argument every time that someone not in to reptiles comes on here to find out what to do and now an australian company is reported to have killed four known pythons because it is easier and cheaper and not one comment about the law and holding them responsible for this........


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## funcouple (Apr 18, 2009)

if they were appropriately packaged they wouldnt of escaped or as it has been said tampered with. so who is at fault, the seller who packaged them or the AAE worker that checked them in? i say both are. at least the seller is out of pocket around $1k


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## Ozymandias (Apr 21, 2009)

I read this somewhere else and I couldn't believe they were too lazy to find them and just killed them. What is 4 puppies had been lost? What then? I really doubt they looked hard enough, seriously.


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## snakehandler (Apr 21, 2009)

If the box was appropriate, was it opened? Was it open when it arrived? If not were 12 snakes transported not 8....is it out of the realms of possibilities that a person needed 4 papers and imported 4 pythons that did not actually exist? I do not know the person at all, I do not know the circumstances behind the discovery of 4 missing pythons but if the animals were transported according to AAE regulations then how did they escape?


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