Today an illegal shipment of snakes was intercepted by the post office. The snakes were identified, confiscated and taken to a safe place where they are now getting some water and decent heating. The temperatures in Johannesburg OR Tambo (where they were picked up) was close to zero degrees.
The snakes were being sent from Limpopo to Cape Town without any permits. It would have been possible to send them legally as the person receiving the parcel knows the law very well. Sending highly venomous snakes like these cobras is irresponsible and could have caused the death of a postal worker.
The post office has sophisticated scanners and they can detect live animals in transit. The days of posting animals is over people. It is not necessary to do that any more. From overseas it can now be done legally and between provinces the permits might take a few days but they can be obtained.