Florida python hunt

[OhhWatALoser]

have to say its better than them taking away our reptiles

tho i think the burms taking over the area is just natural selection at work, but hey we're at the top and i guess we get to control how things are.

[twistedtails]

have to say its better than them taking away our reptiles

tho i think the burms taking over the area is just natural selection at work, but hey we're at the top and i guess we get to control how things are.

You can't even begin to say natural selection. Humans brought these snakes here not nature. I agree that it beats taking our reptiles away though.

[771subliminal]

How many species have been hunted to extinction? How many species came CLOSE to being hunted to extinction, and were saved only by the intervention of laws to protect them? Man seems perfectly capable of wiping out entire populations of animals when there is some sort of profit involved...either profit from selling pelts/skins/feathers/meat or profit from supposedly protecting livestock. I don't see any reason why the invasive snakes in Florida can't be similarly wiped out.

Do I like the idea of killing snakes? Of course not. But unpleasant, unhappy, uncomfortable action is often necessary in this world of ours.

i was thinking the same thing, but then it also seems that we only tend to wipe out the native species. the ones that are not native and are brought in by mistake or to controll another species that has gone crazy are the ones that we cant get under controll (rats, zebra muscles, goby fish, etc).

while i think its a great idea i wonder how well it will work.

they should also try and use the skins from the wild burms for shoes and bags or something productive so they arent just killed and trashed. they still a living creature.

[spartaselite]

They have no hope in hell of eliminating the burmese python. Even if they killed 2000 a year the numbers would still go up. Its difficult to track them in swampland and they are very prolific, not to mention all the private land.

[Denial]

have to say its better than them taking away our reptiles

tho i think the burms taking over the area is just natural selection at work, but hey we're at the top and i guess we get to control how things are.

They will never stop trying to take your reptiles away regardless of how many burms they take out of the everglades

[kazboots]

Actually there is probably a good market for the skins, given how much flack skin and pelt traders get. They could market products from the skins as from animals that were going to die regardless, and people will pay more in order to ease their conscious that an animal died for their boots. And if there is a profit involved the chances of eraditicating or at least seriously reducing the population is greatly increased. Given that the feral pythons must be eliminated, I would feel better to know that at least some part was used and that the animal did not go to waste. I believe that if an animal is killed then as much of it should be used as possible. I have no problem with deer hunting as long as the deer is used for food, it seems pointless and wasteful to me to hunt a deer and do nothing with the carcass.

[Styx]

they should also try and use the skins from the wild burms for shoes and bags or something productive so they arent just killed and trashed. they still a living creature.

I agree. I hate to see any snake die but for the sake of the everglades and for the sake of our hobby... it does need to be done. But I would REALLY dislike it if they didn't at least get used in some way; they're not garbage. And I think selling the skins and meat would lessen the demand for their hides in the native lands.

I'd never buy skins or whatever from a burmese that was either farmed for it's hide or killed and taken from it's natural enviroment, but one of the everglades burmese, I'd love a skull or even a full skeleton as reference for my artwork.

That being said, I will be seriously pissed if they don't try to kill the animals as humanely as possible.

[jblaze]

It is good that they are taking the right measures and allowing only trained individuals to take place in the hunt.

Although, steps need to be taken to prevent more specimens to be released right back into the wild. This is where H.R 669 comes into play, if snakes cannot be purchased-any non-native animal for that matter- then this problem would not arise.

These animals should not be sold to individuals who will dump them into the wild. This is where the H.R 669 will come into play. If pet stores are not permitted to sell the animals, then the inexperienced and negligent owners will not possess them. Then when they get to big and hard to manage, they get dumped into the wild.

In my opinion, right now, this plan is okay. These 20 individuals have to get on their "a-game" to catch the several thousand non-native species/specimens. But without a regulation on who can purchase these snakes, they will have to better plan their mission.

Hopefully all the snakes are hiding, I would sure hate to be digesting my fox and some professional herpetoligist severs my brain.

[bsd13]

I have three issues with this cull.

1) It's nothing but a knee jerk reaction by politicians to gain and take advantage of political capital.

2) As several others have pointed out it honestly won't do a thing in terms of wiping out the population of Burmese in the Everglades and elsewhere.

3) It's knee jerk reaction by the public to do what we always do when an animal acts like an animal and kills someone. Become a mad mob with torches and pitchforks, race out into "wilds" and slaughter that species of animal left and right.

[redpython]

people that think this is good PR are CRAZY.

this is going to cost the taxpayers money and that will be a focus for a ban.

Even though i no longer have the collection that i once had, i am a snake guy, i am still rooting for the snakes.

Man's interaction with this will not solve anything. Let it balance itself out. maybe all of those coon, rat, and possum' populations will go away.

People have been destroying habitat since they invaded what is known as the united states, when will they be culled?