WEST PALM BEACH, FL -- Florida's declaration of war on the Burmese Python follows the death of 2-year-old Shianna Hare near Orlando earlier this month.
The little girl was strangled by her father's python after it escaped its cage.
But critics say the plan to capture and kill the pythons is flawed. Too many snakes. Not enough trappers.
The python's population is exploding in South Florida, and it appears, at least for now, that the FWC intends to allow less than two dozen trappers to find and kill the snakes. On the eve of the state declaring open season on the reptiles, someone anonymously left two of the exotic snakes on the front doorstep of Wild Cargo Pets in West Palm Beach overnight.
They've supported an organized hunt for years. But agree, it must be left to skilled professionals.
"It is a very, very, very strong animal not to be underestimated," says Wild Cargo's owner, Aaron Joyce.
http://www.wptv.com/news/local/story/Ph ... fplrA.cspx
Florida Launches Mass Python Hunt
Where's Samuel Jackson when you need him? Florida is battling a serious snake problem. The Guardian reports that up to 100,000 pythons may be loose and breeding in Florida, the result of a fad for exotic pets. The booming snake population may come from pet owners who release their pythons when the snakes, which can grow up to 26-feet long and weigh up to 196 lbs., become too large. The recent death of a 2-year-old by her family's escaped pet python galvanized the new plan: Florida's governor has licensed a small group of fewer than 10 trappers to hunt and kill the non-native snakes, and will issue more licenses if the plan is successful.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/cheat-shee ... hunt/pets/
The state is requiring pythons which are captured to be killed on the spot.
That has the Humane Society of the United States condemning the python hunt.
http://www.abcactionnews.com/news/local ... px?rss=794
