Massive Albino Burmese Python Seized from Home and Euthanized

A huge exotic snake was seized from a home in Australia this week after apparently being smuggled into the country illegally, wildlife officials have said.

The nine foot albino Burmese python was found inside a residence in Ballarat, Victoria, on Thursday and has been euthanized because it posed a potential risk to members of the public, the animal ecosystem and local agriculture, authorities said.

Police said a probe into where the python came from and how it was brought into the state remains ongoing, and did not release the identity of the homeowner.

The Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning said in a statement that it had been recovered after officers from multiple agencies—including Agriculture Victoria and Victoria Police—conducted a search warrant on the person's property.

Illegally keeping or trading in exotic animals poses "one of the greatest risks of new pest animals establishing in Victoria and Australia," officials said, noting it can be costly if any species are deliberately released or escape from enclosures and into the wild.

"We are always really concerned when we discover an exotic reptile in Victoria due to the enormous threat they pose to Victoria's biodiversity and agriculture," Jared Priestly, a Conservation Regulator Wildlife Officer, said in a statement. He warned that any illegally-imported animal could impact the natural environment if they carry exotic diseases.

Priestly told media outlet 9News that the python was possibly bought illegally on a black market, where the species can reportedly sell for tens of thousands of dollars.

"Due to the size of the snake and the biosecurity risk it caused, it was taken to a vet yesterday afternoon and euthanized," he said. "It would have [been] part of a wildlife trafficking operation. It is quite rare we find them in Victoria."

Burmese pythons are non-venomous constrictors native to South East Asia that can grow to up to 26 feet and weigh more than 200 pounds, experts say.

In the wild, the species typically reaches approximately 16 feet. Regardless of size, they can be devastating to native animal populations if they start breeding in the wild.

Florida has designated the snakes as an invasive species as they continue to thrive in the Everglades and compete with native wildlife for food. Declines in the populations of mammals in the park have been linked to a Burmese python takeover.

For example, raccoon populations fell by over 99 percent, opossums by 98 percent and bobcats by 87 percent, since the snakes gained a foothold there in the 1990s. "Marsh rabbits, cottontail rabbits, and foxes effectively disappeared," the United States Geological Survey has said.

"The most severe declines in native species have occurred in the remote southernmost regions of [the] Everglades, where pythons have been established the longest."

Victoria Police Inspector Dan Davison told 9News that law enforcement takes any cases of illegal wildlife smuggling "very seriously." In Australia, possessing illegally imported animals or their offspring can result in 10 years' jail time and fines up to $110,000 AU ($80,000 USD.)