We Need to Take Action

We need to take action concerning this video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgKTa...e_gdata_player

The letter below is what I emailed to the director of the Forest Service near Naples, FL. I would encourage you all to do the same and encourage anyone who cares about exotic animals to do likewise.

The email address is Gregory.Ihle@freshfromflorida.com


To Whom It May Concern,

I, as well as many others, am deeply disturbed by the inhumane treatment of the animal in the video link below. For an employee of the Forest Service to brutally mutilate an animal who is still alive is grounds for disciplinary actions. There are not only many humane ways of killing the animal, but more importantly there are rescue organizations that can take them in.:cens0r:

Viciously hacking an animal, even an invasive species, in a barbaric manner is never acceptable. I ask that you handle this situation as one in which discipline is necessary and that you inform me of the actions taken.

Thank you,:cens0r:

It says the video is private :/ Is there another link to it, or can you post the title of the video?

Looking at the content of your e-mail, I'm not even sure I WANT to see it :/

http://www.winknews.com/Local-Florid...Collier-County

Quote:

---

COLLIER COUNTY, Fla -- A Florida Forest Ranger talks to WINK News about how he caught and killed a 15 foot python.

It's the second largest python ever found in the Picayune Strand.

Jean Bernard Tarrete and his co-worker found the snake two weeks ago, but came up empty handed. Last week, on Tarrete's last day as a Forest Ranger, he went back, determined to catch the python.

He says, "I grabbed it by the tail and it was kind of turning, trying to come toward me, but I was like turning on the side and after a little while, my co-worker hit him on the head."

They used a rake to kill the Python, which measured out to be 15 feet 3 inches and approximately 100 pounds.

Tarrete says, "no one wants to kill animals, but the thing is, once you catch it, you have to do something."

The Florida Forest Service didn't report when the python was captured because they say it was poorly handled. Victor Hill says rangers are trained to capture and kill pythons in a humane way, and the video shows, that wasn't the case.

Hill says, "The issue is it looks like the snake is just mangled and that's not what we wanted to happen."

But, Tarrete defends what he did and the way he did it, saying they weren't killing to kill, but killing to protect other animals in the Everglades.

"The thing was trying to come toward us and at some point you let go or you take care of business," Tarrete said.

State biologists are conducting a necropsy, specifically looking in the stomach area to determine what the snake may have been eating.


********

COLLIER COUNTY, Fla.- Rangers in Picayune Strand State Forest recently captured and killed a python more than 15 feet long, according to Florida Forest Service.

Victor Hill, of Florida Forest Service, released the following statement regarding the animal's capture:

"Our center manager chose not send out information about the capture because the python was poorly handled. Rangers are trained to capture and kill pythons in a humane way, and as the article and video show, this was not the case...Pythons are an aggressive, invasive species that threaten the health of the state forest and the Everglades. Our rangers work closely with officers from our partner agencies to monitor their numbers and take action when necessary in an appropriate manner. We appreciate the efforts of these rangers to capture and kill the python, but we absolutely do not condone the way it was handled."

---