Several countries and regions are known to have no native snakes. Notably:
- New Zealand is famously snake-free due to its geological isolation and strict biosecurity laws banning snakes to protect the ecosystem. No native snakes live on land there, though some sea snakes may occasionally be seen in surrounding waters.
- Ireland has no native snakes, attributed to its cold climate and geographical isolation after the Ice Age. Despite folklore about St. Patrick driving snakes away, scientific evidence supports that snakes never colonized Ireland.
- Iceland also has no wild snakes, owing to its cold temperatures and isolation. Robust import laws help keep snakes out of the wild.
- Antarctica has no snakes at all because of its extreme cold climate which cannot support reptiles.
- Other snake-free places include Greenland, the Cook Islands, Cape Verde, and various Pacific islands such as Kiribati and Tuvalu, mostly due to isolation and climate.
Thus, the most notable countries with no snakes are New Zealand, Ireland, Iceland, and Antarctica as a continent with zero snakes.
