Florida paying bounty hunters to control its python population

[oldbrownhat]

"If wrestling with an 18ft snake in the middle of the night in a swamp doesn't put you off – we're hiring."

BBC article here

Hey- this looks like fun You go, girls!

"...Amy Siewe – or the python huntress as she's also known – is scanning the roads and grassy verges of South Florida. She's after a legendary 20 footer – a 6m-long invasive Burmese python, slithering through the grass in search of prey to strangle and consume. "You never know when that girl is gonna be coming across the road, so you wanna be there for it," she says..."

The hunters work in pairs, and so Siewe's sidekick will tape the snake's mouth shut...

Reminded me of the story a month ago about the guy who crossed from NY into Canada to buy three (presumably juvenile) Burmese pythons and was caight on the return trip with them tied in special "sleeves" in his pants "So you like big snakes, Mr. Bautista? We're sending you to Florida for a couple of months..."

 

[Onomea]

Another article in the past week or so said Burmese pythons were the new sustainable protein foodstuff! Can live for about a year without food, drink enough water to survive by licking the morning dew off their skins, and are hence easy to raise with minimal care. Being farmed in Vietnam, I think it was, right now!

Easy-peasy to prepare as well, as you just peel the skin off and the large fillets are there for the taking!

Fire up the BBQ.

Yummy!

 

[MRB1]

In 1985ish I bought a hatchling Burmese to raise. I started him out on small white mice, two was a full meal, then in a couple of weeks he had grown enough to accept a baby chick - then two- than three. More growth and he was accepting white lab rats. Grew like a weed. At 18 months he was slightly less than eight feet long and eating two domesticated rabbits a week. He could have easily killed me if he got around my neck and constricted.

 

[oldbrownhat]

Another article in the past week or so said Burmese pythons were the new sustainable protein foodstuff!...

Yes, I saw that one, too (unfortunately) No doubt a viable solution but "include me out." Insects, too. Those swarms of cicadas could be put to good use. Just need a few dozen of those huge nets they put around golf practice ranges and voilà!

 

[Racer X]

sure, even a comedy series about it, Killing It

 

[Rudi]

Kill them! Any one who wants to eat them, go ahead on. Not for me.

 

[Old 44 Guy]

Another reason why I don't like Florida. Bugs, snakes, heat, spiders, traffic, Hurricanes and my ex moved there. She is gone and I am still moving.

 

[YeshuaIsa53]

Are they illegally here?

 

[Chuck24]

Swamp People snake hunters, when they're not catching gators. Thursdays on History Channel

 

[Rustyt1953]

 

[soFlaNative]

Are they illegally here?

See below for how AND WHEN the current problem occurred. Most were purchased legally then released when they became more than the owner could handle.
I'm not accusing but am curious about the what happened and where.

In 1985ish I bought a hatchling Burmese to raise. I started him out on small white mice, two was a full meal, then in a couple of weeks he had grown enough to accept a baby chick - then two- than three. More growth and he was accepting white lab rats. Grew like a weed. At 18 months he was slightly less than eight feet long and eating two domesticated rabbits a week. He could have easily killed me if he got around my neck and constricted.

 

[Tom S.]

Wrestling with a snake at night? Not just no but HELL NO!

Yes, as a kid I played with them and handled them. Then I grew up.

 

[Dave.357]

Why are they catching them.
Why not shoot them in head
And skin them .

 

[CAJUNLAWYER]

Just can't picture Dog da bounty hunter going after pythons with stun guns and mullets.....

 

[Bald1]

Why are they catching them.
Why not shoot them in head
And skin them .

She does kill them. She also skins them out and makes snake skin accessories. She's a big deal deal in SW Florida. Especially down around Everglades City.

 

[ladder13]

Let 'em eat those foot long palmettos then kill 'em.

 

[ditrina]

Let 'em eat those foot long palmettos then kill 'em.

We're workin' on it!!

 

[SMSgt]

It's enough target practice keeping the iguanas at bay.

 

[ladder13]

We're workin' on it!

 

[WCCPHD]

How long before those with too much time on their hands start a "save the pythons" movement?

 

[Dave.357]

Someone could make money arranging
Safaris for them.

 

[Marshwheeling]

How long before those with too much time on their hands start a "save the pythons" movement?

Hey, snakes are people, too.

 

[Rule3]

They may catch a few and look like heroes but the war will never end. Ever been IN the Glades?? It's endless and snakes can hide anywhere,


Only way I see the population going down is the snakes will kill/eat all their food sources (which they have almost done already)


Now we are battling green Iguanas, saw a 4 foot one in the yard a day ago. They were never here. It will be like the Fl Keys

 

[oldbrownhat]

Are they illegally here?

Not quite. From the article:

Burmese pythons are thought to have come to Florida as pets in the mid-1990s. From 1996 to 2006, around 99,000 pythons were brought to the US to be sold as pets. When some escaped into the wild, they found a python paradise rich in prey such as mice, squirrels and birds – but also, large animals including deer and even alligators...​

How long before those with too much time on their hands start a "save the pythons" movement?

PETA: PYTHONS' ETHICAL TREATMENT ASSOCIATION ?