I have been there several times now. They have a nice snake show every day. According the handlers Hurricane Andrew destroyed an exotic snake warehouse in the Everglades in 1992 and there have been DNA studies that have linked the pythons to the ones in the warehouse.

I don't know if that's true, but I've heard the personnel at the Naples Zoo say that. Several handlers, over about a 4 year period, have told that story. And they also say that the problem is grossly overstated.

I'm still not 100% convinced of the ethics of hunting them down like that.

I don't know.

I am not sure there is much more that could be done if you want to kill a huge number of snakes in a relatively short period. Florida recommends a shot to the head or decapitation.

ecosystem where they do not belong. To kick the question back at ya', How is it not ethical to eradicate a foreign species that is devastating indigenous species?

Regardless of how they got here they don't belong here and are a real danger the existence of native species.

I'm a total softy and this bothers me to no end. Sure do wish there was an alternative.

the python that kills the most humans get?

What about the human that kills the most humans while trying to kill the most pythons?

I was trying to find an appropriate picture!

that right-wing nut job John Voight might actually get eaten by a large snake?

Ii know who I'm rooting for in that picture.

though i wouldn't be taking part, i think they pose a real threat to the ecosystem. at least that's my understanding, correct me if i'm wrong.

Rather than hire extra fish game and wildlife employees to deal with exotic pet enforcement and population control/eradication; they are using this as a method of cheap labor by knowingly targeting a demographic which will likely eat this up as 'sport' the entire way...

to pay for the FW employees to protect native birds, pets, and miscellaneous nongame wildlife from these things?

I know that jobs are needed, and I'm sympathetic. But I also have no problem with using volunteer labor for conservation projects. Getting volunteers into nature on these projects creates awareness and a sense of being a necessary part of natural lands stewardship.

As a matter of full disclosure, I've worn out a couple Sandvik safety axes as a volunteer controlling wood weeds on prairie restorations and wetland protection.

Also is it a great idea to send every untrained Tom, Dick and Harry into the swamp chasing after dangerous snakes?

in an ecosystem where it can really thrive and damage the native species. Better to kill them off.

Rampaging in the wilderness and displacing native species, they're not so cool.

and are quite prolific. You might want to take a look st this article.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/08/120814-burmese-python-snake-florida-eggs-biggest-science/

And is spreading rapidly. No matter who does it, the only way to curb the spread is to kill the snakes. The snakes are killing off the natural fauna.

They've tried pretty much everything already, except paying a fixed fee for each snake turned in, which is where they'll end up.

Also, they are trying to make a splash with this program to get the public to be more aware about the problem so that more snakes aren't released into the wild.

should have one of the pythons released in their house. That oughta do it.

of all these motherf***ing snakes in my motherf***ing house!!

I miss the DUzies. But your post is worthy.

I had two pet boa constrictors loose in my house. I could never find them. They only came out when they were hungry.

I am 6th generation Floridian. I have have camped in the Glades most of my youth. The idiots that brought these snakes into this country/state to sell o ompletely uneducated idiots should be held accountable for the distruction of the florida Eco wildlife system. Every bill that a democrat drafted, never made it to the floor, til recently, and it was shot down by the rethugs. It would hurt business bullshit. The exotic animal business backed by Alec ......... This hunt s the best news I have heard here in florida, since election.

Why not have a Python cook-off? Award prizes for the best recipes using python (they probably taste like chicken), maybe with categories like "Best Python Chili" or "Best Python Barbecue". Or a python fashion show, with workshops on making python vests of belts.

The highlight of the events will be a public shaming of the stupid idiots who thought it was a good idea to first buy an exotic species and then release it into the wild.

but such a contest by The Department of Wildlife and Fisheries sounds like an admittance of failure to me.

I'm torn on this. Sure, get the locals to take care of business if need be, but stuff like this can get out of hand easily.

they have to kill them faster than they can breed. You really think the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries has that kind of man power?

It's necessary. All those beautiful snakes destroyed because stoopid humans had pets they couldn't take care of and released them.

So many idiots get reptiles without thinking about their care.

There is no other option but to kill as many as possible. Given the number of eggs being laid, I'm just afraid its too little too late.

Open it up to anybody, even if they are from out of state. I guarantee that Florida's python problem would disappear in five years.

They do a lot of damage to the environment as they are also an invasive species.

The Everglades is a delicate eco-system.

I also read recently that they have caught a few Nile Crocodiles outside Miami in the last year!

I'm not sure if they will ever be able to stop the invasion of this species. We humans are pretty good at fucking things up royally

As a wetlands ecologist who works in FL, the fewer 20'+ snakes I run into the better. The native 8'+ snakes are good enough for me.

Above I posted that they taste like chicken. I've eaten snake on occasion.

FarCenter answered that they are high in mercury.

Was he ever right!

http://www.livescience.com/8528-mercury-invasive-pythons-menu.html

"...highest mercury levels of any animal in the park —up to 3.5 parts per million. By comparison, the state of Florida considers fish containing more than 1.5 parts per million of mercury unsafe to eat.."

That's gonna complicate the control of those things. Lots of hunters might go out if there's the possibility of a whole lot of edible meat, but if you can't even eat them.....