Department of Agriculture

Boa Constrictor Turned in on Oahu Over Weekend

Honolulu – A live boa constrictor snake was turned in on Saturday afternoon (3/24) at the Hawaii Department of Agriculture’s Animal Quarantine Station in Halawa. An unidentified woman turned in the three-foot -long snake under the State’s Amnesty Program, which promises immunity from prosecution if illegal animals are turned in voluntarily. The only information the woman left was that the snake had been a gift.

The snake is currently being safeguarded at the department’s Plant Quarantine Station. A photo opportunity of the snake is scheduled between 3:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. this afternoon at the Plant Quarantine Station, located at 701 Ilalo Street. Due to road construction in the area, take Cooke Street makai toward Kakaako Park and enter the gate after Ilalo Street.

Boa constrictors are nonvenomous and are found throughout the greater part of tropical Central and South America. They can grow up to 12 feet in length and has a normal diet of small mammals such as mice and rats.

Persons possessing illegal animals are subject to stiff penalties, including fines of up to $200,000 and up to three years in jail. Anyone with information or knowledge of illegal animals in Hawaii is asked to call the department’s PEST HOTLINE at 586-PEST(7378).

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