The Voice contestant Anja Nissen will have her pet corn snake taken from her and destroyed

THE Voice contestant Anja Nissen is about to lose her prized pet corn snake Zena after it featured on national television.

THE Voice contestant Anja Nissen is about to lose her prized pet corn snake Zena after it featured on national TV and reptile experts dobbed her in to authorities, pointing out the snake is illegal.

The young blonde singer from the Blue Mountains was profiled on Nine’s A Current Affair on Monday after her successful audition on The Voice and proudly showed off her snake. But after the show, viewers tipped off the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, which will now remove the snake from Anja’s care and destroy it.

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The Voice contestant Anja Nissen of NSW on A Current Affair / Picture: Channel 9

She has had the pet for six years, keeping it in a specially fitted out tank.

“I got Zena when I was 12 years old as a gift and, until now, have been unaware that it is potentially illegal. I am now in the process of formally identifying her and if need be, sadly, finding an exotic pets rescue group that will take her and look after her,” Ms Nissen said yesterday.

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But NPWS said there was no option but to euthanase Zena as the snake is a threat to the environment.

“After the show the department was forwarded information suggesting the snake is illegal,’’ a NSW Office of Heritage and Environment spokeswoman said.

“Corn snakes are a highly invasive exotic species that pose a real risk to our own native species. They present a serious risk of establishing in Australia as agricultural or environmental pests, carrying pathogens that are capable of spreading diseases to livestock and local wildlife,’’ she said. “We feel for her but there are a lot of legal reptiles you can keep as pets.’’

The Voice Contestant Anja Nissen / Picture: Supplied