Recently, a traveler from Nanning, Southwest China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, entered the country through the Dongxing port carrying two bags.Photo: web

Recently, a traveler from Nanning, Southwest China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, entered the country through the Dongxing port carrying two bags. When his luggage was inspected through an X-ray machine, customs officials noticed something unusual. Upon manual inspection, officials found four black cotton socks in his luggage, each tightly tied at the opening with a rubber band, and containing a live snake coiled inside. These were identified as juvenile reticulated pythons.

Reticulated pythons, also known as king pythons, are foreign species often kept as pets abroad.

This isn't the first time such an incident has occurred. Recently, Huanggang Customs in Shenzhen detained a traveler at the Futian port who had smuggled six live snakes into the country, wrapped in long winter socks. After the snakes were discovered, they were immediately intercepted by customs and handed over to the relevant departments. The snakes were identified as ball pythons, a nationally protected species in China.

Experts say that smuggling pythons not only violates national laws but also severely damages the ecological environment and society's interests. To protect wildlife resources, departments need to strengthen supervision, enhance the promotion of laws and regulations, and raise public awareness of environmental protection and legal concepts.