Florida's Snake Problem

[JodanOrNoDan]

While Peta, USFW and others would love to make people think that the invasive species issue is due to irresponsible pet owners this is NOT the case here.

The Barkers have wrote very good articles about the subject http://vpi.com/publications

So no Florida is not the world dumping ground for pets, no one travels down to Florida to dump their pet because they become too large, the destruction of a facility during an hurricane was the major contributing factor to the issue in Fl. The numbers are also far from reality just like the risk for other area and states have been GREATLY exaggerated by so called scientist.

Deborah, I greatly respect your opinion and I agree with you on many things, but on this one I am guessing we are going to have to agree to disagree. I am not a PETA supporter and honestly think they are a bunch of mouth breathing idiots. I am not a biologist or an environmentalist. I am a Texas born Florida raised tobacco chewing redneck who daylights as a computer scientist. This should pretty much tell you where my politics lie. That said even idiots can be right sometimes. Yes, there was a reptile breeding facility destroyed here during hurricane Andrew. I was here when it happened. There were many invasive species here before that. I wonder what those burms were being bred for? I honestly don't know but I would bet they were intended as pets. I also know of people that have released things that they shouldn't have. Many of the species may have been introduced from trade shipments. Are people driving and flying from all over the world to dump their pets here? I really doubt it but animals that were intended as pets come from around the world and somehow end up living in the everglades. I could open an exotic pet store and literally not have to buy a single thing. Want an iguana, jesus lizard, cuban lizard, burm, lion fish, oscar, paccu, convict, red devil ..... I can go on and on. I can get them all. I have spent a lot of time in the everglades with my kids, hunting, and military training. They are all here. They are established. I am not going to deny that fact or all the ways that it happened. I have seen it with my own eyes. Are burms going to invade half the US? No. That is fear mongering by the idiots. In my opinion we should be able to admit facts. It makes all our other statements more believable. We need to police our own and make sure we are not a part of the problem and become part of the solution. I want people to be able to own exotics. I don't want the government telling me or anyone else what I can and can not have.