Since July 17, authorities in Florida have allowed reptile hunters with special permits to capture and euthanize pythons that are thriving in the Everglades and other parts of the state, living off native species and harming the fragile ecosystem.
The largest python so far was captured on Thursday. It was a 207-pound male that measured more than 17-feet long and 26 inches in diameter; however, it was not captured by one of the permitted hunters. Instead, it was shot on the 20-acre compound of the Okeechobee Veterinary Hospital by one of the vets who was alerted to its presence by his nephew. It is illegal to shoot pythons in Florida wildlife management areas or federal lands, but the snakes can be legally shot on private property.
The now-deceased snake is believed to be one of more than 100,000 pythons living in the Florida wilds. The snakes are often abandoned by disgruntled pet owners when they become too large to handle and too expensive to feed. They can reproduce rapidly with female pythons laying up to 80 eggs at a time, and they have no natural predators in Florida.
Florida Gov. Charlie Crist called for the python eradication program two weeks after a Florida toddler was strangled in her crib by the family’s pet, which had escaped from its aquarium. Within an one hour of launching the program, hunters captured the first python, which was 10 feet long.
Florida Reps. Ron Klein and Alcee Hastings have introduced a House bill would closely regulate the importation of pet pythons, but that proposal has met resistance from lobbies like the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council. The PIJAC insists the problem can be controlled through regulatory programs without halting imports.
When marketed to the public, pythons are typically a foot long and weigh a few ounces. Eventually, they grow to about 18 feet long and weigh 160 pounds or more. Currently, pythons are readily available as pets and can cost as little as $75 each.
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