RE: Re: RE: Bondi Burmese Python
boa said:
If an exotic is found and destroyed because of it's "potential" to carry disease why are exotics in parks allowed to be carried around amongst the public and handled by keepers who then handle other snakes ?
It's very simple. Exotics that are legally imported by zoos (imports do not come from private individuals) have been in quarantine isolation in the exporting zoo for several weeks, and have been checked by their vets before export, and their reptile collection has had no disease outbreaks in the period prior to export (if there is an outbreak after export, then this must be immediately advised, and the Australian Government will then impose further restrictions). Upon arrival in Australia, the reptile goes into a government approved quarantine facility (in NSW I think only Taronga and ARP have them for reptiles) for several weeks and are closely monitored by vets daily. These vets are zoo vets who are trained specifically for the zoo environment, and are aware of exotic diseases that the animals may have been exposed to (you're normal vet usually isn't aware of diseases that aren't in Australia, with a couple of exceptions).
So, in short, exotics that have been legally imported under these strict conditions are not put in the rest of the collection until they are
confirmed disease free. That's why fauna parks with Burms and Boas can allow the public to handle them for educational purposes or photo opportunities. incidentally, those animals should not be part of the main collection, and should be housed separately in case they contract something from a member of the public. The keepers should also be washing their hands thoruoghly with an antibacterial wash before handling other animals.
Any exotic that is held illegally by a private individual cannot match the strict quarantine regulations required by the government. That is why they are normally destroyed, unless they are uncommon and a zoo - with an approved quarantine facility - decides they want to take them.
As a case in point: last year some moron attempted to smuggle into Sydney four King Cobras and four Emerald Tree Boas strapped to his thighs in little pockets made of wool (or socks). The cobras died in transit but the boas survived. Melbourne Zoo expressed an interest in them and the boas made there way south. They were going to spend more than a year in quarantine at the zoo. After a month one of them died. Post Mortem showed it had cryptosporidiosis, a nasty disease that normally doesn't manifest symptoms until just before death. It usually causes death, and is highly contagious in reptiles. To prevent an outbreak in the rest of the collection the other three were euthanased almost immediately.
Hope this clears things up a little.
Hix
