Boa dies in quarantine hours before release

Environment officials are wondering how a boa constrictor died while it was in quarantine just hours before it was due to be released from a lengthy spell in captivity.

An autopsy is to be carried out on the 1.6 metre snake which had spent 15 months in captivity.

A number of rare tortoises were luckier and were exported to a rescue centre in the UK, several months after being imported into Malta without the necessary documentation.

The tortoises, of the Testudo Kleinmanni species (pictured below), had been confiscated from two Libyan citizens over a year ago.

According to a Malta Environment and Planning Authority spokesman, the boa constrictor was found dead in Luqa's quarantine section last Tuesday.

MEPA has ordered an autopsy to establish what happened to the reptile, which is known to live up to 30 years in captivity.

The snake is normally found in South and Central America and is known to kill other animals by wrapping itself around them and crushing them to death.

The snake, along with other reptiles, had been confiscated from a pet shop, whose owner was arraigned in court and fined Lm50.

Although it was in captivity, the snake made its presence felt four months ago when it managed to venture out of its cage. It was captured a week later.

With the help of the local customs, Air Malta, the Veterinary Services Department and CITES, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora in the UK, the Malta Environment and Planning Authority's Nature Protection Unit has been busy coordinating the release of all confiscated animals to a rescue and breeding programme centre in England.

The unit's primary aim is to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival.

The illegal trafficking of plants and animals is only second to drug trafficking. International wildlife trade is estimated to be worth billions of dollars and includes hundreds of millions of plant and animal specimens.

Chief veterinarian Lino Vella ruled out foul play in the case of the boa constrictor, especially since just one individual held the key to its cage.

However, he admitted that the quarantine facilities were a strain on exotic animals, even if the construction of a border restriction post at the airport should solve the longstanding problems.

It was, however, high time for the courts to eradicate the lengthy delays that were leading to unnecessary hardship for the animals in captivity, Dr Vella said.