The snake found in a North Shore used car yard was a Japanese rat snake, the ministry manager in charge of its capture says.
The snake found at the North Shore used car yard was a Japanese rat snake like this one. Photo: 123rf
An Auckland used-car salesman got a nasty surprise yesterday when he discovered the unwelcome passenger in one of his yard's new imports.
The snake was found hiding out in a black Nissan Leaf which had recently been imported from Japan.
Ministry for Primary Industries manager of cargo operations Stuart Rawnsley visited the snake this morning after its capture yesterday.
He said the snake had been identified as a Japanese rat snake.
"Which is a non-venomous snake found throughout most of the warmer regions of Japan and often kept as pets over there as well."
"Those kind of snakes would pose more of a threat to our local environment, to our bird population. This one in particular is an egg-eater, so it would certainly be a significant threat if it was able to establish here."
-"It had found a space to hide underneath the bonnet"- Stuart Rawnsley
However, Japanese rat snakes tended to prefer warmer climates than in New Zealand and were unlikely to be in a position to get established here, he said.
He said venomous snakes were occasionally found on the border, but had usually already died.
He said the car had gone through a biosecurity check in Japan, but the electric car had many small compartments.
The system was never going to be perfect, but there were several layers of security involved, he said.
"It happens prior to the border, at the border and then after the border and everyone down to the poeple who actually sell the vehicles in New Zealand are involved in the biosecurity process so as long as we find the threats within those layers then we're happy," he said.
The car yard's office manager Branka McPheat said the imported car had been in storage awaiting a compliance check.
The snake would be euthanised sometime today, Mr Rawnsley said.