Majorca issues warning for UK tourists who risk island’s ‘deadliest’ problem

Majorca has reported a massive increase in sightings, with the snakes one of the deadliest breeds.Majorca issues warning for UK tourists who risk island’s ‘deadliest’ problem

Majorca has been invaded by horseshoe snakes – with European holidaymakers heading to Spain from the UK warned. Majorca has reported a massive increase in sightings, with the snakes one of the deadliest breeds.

One biologist warned: “Either we drastically increase traps and extraction or we will have to get used to living with these snakes.” The Consortium for the Recovery of Fauna of the Balearic Islands (COFIB) has been criticised by locals.

“They give you the cages but since they are short of resources, they tell us that they will not be able to come and pick them up. Therefore, we have to take them to their headquarters or kill them,” said one farmer.

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Biologist from the University of the Balearic Islands (UIB), Samuel Pinya says: “We need thousands and thousands of traps to reduce the population. In 2003, we should have acted more quickly and filled the territory with traps.

“But between 2003 and 2015, there was a lull, and then they began to grow out of control.” In the event of a horseshoe snake bite, the victim is likely to experience common bite symptoms such as small, painful puncture wounds that may swell in the affected area.

If such an incident occurs, it’s advisable to cleanse the bite site gently with mild soap and water and diligently monitor the wound.

The Director General for the Environment and Forest Management, Anna Torres, said that priority has been given to an “intensive campaign in terms of resources and personnel, with the aim of preserving one of the most valuable areas of the Balearics” as the island wages war on the reptiles.

“Invasive snakes, in environments as fragile as the islands, can pose a serious problem,” she warned. She considers it necessary to safeguard protected and endangered species “that could be affected by the presence of invasive snakes.”