Don't kill sea snakes, DOC warns - NZ Press Item

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: THE EVENING POST (Wellington, New Zealand) 27 January 00 Don't kill sea snakes, DOC warns : (NZPA): The Department of Conservation (DOC) is warning anyone finding potentially deadly sea snakes alive that killing the reptiles is illegal. : On Sunday, residents at Tokerau Beach in Northland killed a snake after finding it on the beach, and then put it in their fridge before handing it on to authorities to identify. : The Ministry of Fisheries has since identified the animal as a yellow-bellied sea snake, whose bite is capable of causing paralysis, severe pain, and, in the worst cases, cardiac arrest. While poisonous, it was not aggressive, the Ministry said. : The species was found throughout the Pacific and Indian oceans. It regularly visited northern New Zealand during January and May, but environmental conditions here preventedit reproducing and becoming established. : Despite the snakes' potentially lethal bite, killing them was a punishable offence, DOC Whangarei-based reptile specialist Richard Parrish said. : Any animal which made its way to this country under its own steam was protected bylaw. Sea snakes were able to be rehabilitated and returned to the wild, he said. : Two types of sea snake were sometimes found in this country, the second variety being the banded sea snake. : They were carried south from the subtropics on currents, with their systems becoming sluggish when they reached colder water, Mr Parrish said. : At that stage they could have difficulty digesting food, making them weak and causing them to be washed ashore. : Both Mr Parrish and the Ministry warned people to stay clear of any snakes that were found, and to advise either DOC, the Ministry, or the police. : :

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