[FoxNews] The snakes discovered by Chinese authorities include the Texas rat snake and the milk snakeA would-be snake smuggler was apprehended at Futian Port in China, which borders Hong Kong and Shenzhen.
Chinese state media Weixin posted that the smuggler was attempting to transport 104 live snakes into China, where the reptiles can be legally farmed and eaten.
Live animals, however, cannot be legally transported across the border per Chinese law.
China is considered to be a haven for exotic animal smugglers, with many of them being kept as pets or used in medicine and cuisine like shark fin soup. Snake soup is considered a Cantonese delicacy.
Live animal markets, or ‘wet markets,’ continue their popularity despite the COVID-19 pandemic.
The would-be smuggler has not been named, and his punishment unspecified, in China's customs authority social media post.