So as I understand it, it is currently illegal to export animals out of Australia.

That being the case, what is the history behind aussie pythons(and other native aussie wildlife) in the UK and US? I assume at some point it was legal to export, so how many years has it been since then?

Is there much illegal exporting going on right now? I have to imagine that "new" morphs popping up outside of aussie-land could imply illegal activities.

I'm particularly interested in the history of morelia spilota exportation, and what we Americans are missing out on due to current legislation.