Earlier in March, a student walking home from school in Kahaluu, Oahu, saw some chickens pecking at a dead snake along the side of the road. The 16-inch snake was picked up by Agriculture inspectors and identified as a corn snake. Her brother was able to capture the snake and put it in a jar. The student then took the snake to school the next day and a teacher confiscated the snake and called Agriculture officials in Hilo who picked up the snake and transported it to the Plant Quarantine Station in Honolulu. That snake is believed to be in the garter snake family, but was sent to the Bishop Museum for positive identification.
State law prohibits the importation and possession of snakes and other illegal animals.
Owners of illegal pets are encouraged to turn them into the department under the State's Amnesty Program, which grants immunity to those who voluntarily come forward.