Release of snakes on mainland raises biodiversity concerns
A hundred pythons captured in Hong Kong each year are being taken over the border and released into the wild in a policy that experts warn may be upsetting the city's biodiversity.
Burmese pythons found troubling residents or animals are taken to a government-managed animal centre for temporary keeping and then sent periodically in batches for release on the mainland.
But experts said taking mostly fully grown pythons out of the local snake population was potentially inhumane and may cause explosions in the populations of wild boar, deer and other python prey.
They urged the government to microchip pythons, an endangered species, and conduct a detailed survey of their population and habits so that a knowledge-based management policy could be drawn up.
The policy of deporting problem snakes emerged after an incident near a family walk on the edge of Sai Kung Country Park a fortnight ago, where a woman battled a 4.5-metre python to save her pet dog, Poppy, from being crushed to death.