Customs pounce on exotic creatures in Dublin airport

Customs officers have intercepted a consignment of exotic spiders, amphibians and reptiles in Dublin airport.

The haul, which arrived in the airport from the United States on Monday, included tarantualas, scorpions, toads, tortoises and snakes. A total of 78 species were found in the parcel, which was destined for a pet shop in the west.

Customs officers searched two premises in Limerick following the discovery.

A spokesman for the Revenue's Customs Service said the package had been declared as "aquatic plants". The snakes and sliders (freshwater tortoises) were sealed in small cloth bags and the rest of the animals were found in ten plastic food containers, all of which had been tightly packed into a cardboard box.

The animals were taken to Dublin Zoo for care. Three animals, a snake and two scorpions died in transit, and more deaths were predicted had the parcel not been intercepted.

It is illegal to import all of the species found in the absence of an import licence. The scorpions required an import permit under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).

The haul included:

• Four Rose hair tarantulas ( grammostola cala )
• Two Guyana pinktoe tarantulas ( Avicularia avicularia )
• Eight green snakes (rough) ( Opheodrys aestivus ) (one died in transit)
• 50 red-ear sliders ( Trachemys scripta elegans )
• Two leopard geckos ( Eublepharis macularis )
• 10 fire-bellied toads ( Bombina spp )
• Two emperor scorpions ( Pandinus imperator )

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