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As a (smaller species) python collector myself, I only care that these irresponsible morons are giving us responsible owners a bad name - and in the process, causing government action banning the import of certain species. A few links on that:
Thankfully these bans don't affect me personally, but they're a bad omen of things to come... and one day they might come after my harmless little snakes, forcing me to make some difficult decisions (break the law or surrender my beloved pets). What we need to do is go after the irresponsible owners, who are releasing these snakes into the wild, and maybe tighten up the regulations on who's allowed to purchase them. Right now you can walk into a place like East Bay Vivarium, and purchase a little Burmese baby with no screening process. Those cute little things eventually grow as big as 18-23ft, and their owners suddenly realize "Wait, I have to provide housing and food for this gigantic snake? Guess I'll just let them go!"
Increased government intervention isn't the solution, IMO... education and better screening at the time of purchase is a better way to handle this, rather than punishing us responsible owners/breeders and potentially destroying a multi-million dollar industry. I know people who do this (breeding, selling, educational programs, etc) as their SOLE profession, and they don't deserve to lose their livelihood because of some idiots in Florida. My two cents, as probably the only one personally affected by this issue on the thread.
P.S. As mentioned in my first sentence, I don't collect anything as large as a Burm... my biggest snake is a Jungle Carpet Python, who will eventually reach 6-7ft (he's still growing), and most are in the 4-5ft range. If I let one of mine go loose here in Northern CA, they'd most likely die within a month - and if they did survive, it would only affect the rodent population. Who needs more mice & rats, anyway? But of course, I would never ever do such a thing!!
One more thing, LOL. Banning the importation of these animals, which is all that's being done right now, doesn't really help the problem anyway... there are SO many collectors and breeders/dealers in the United States, the industry will survive even without importation (although it does hurt a bit). I'm a breeder myself, selling Ball Pythons and Spotted Pythons, who are all laid & hatched right here in my California home - and I only sell locally, so the inter-state transfer laws also don't affect me.
I do screen my buyers, btw, and have rejected more than one potential owner over the years. Since I only do this as a hobby and on a very small scale, it's easy for me to be picky about who buys them. Not so easy for the large-scale dealers, though!
Florida needed to attack the Pythons as CA does a fruit fly. Now they have the problem.
The only solution at this point will be to control them. Wiping them out is no longer possible....
That by the way is exactly what CA has striven to avoid.
And that problem was a fruit destructor.
Perhaps a biological solution will be discovered...but short of that they are likely in the Everglades forever. And likely the local fauna will have to adopt...mostly by ceasing to exist.
Thankfully these bans don't affect me personally, but they're a bad omen of things to come... and one day they might come after my harmless little snakes, forcing me to make some difficult decisions (break the law or surrender my beloved pets).
Faced with that dilemma, many
owners would release their pets
rather than turn them in to be killed.
Personally, I think what is shameful and a national disgrace are the clueless ying-yangs who were personally irresponsible and dumped their snakes into an eco system that was never meant to support them.
It's inevitable that such species will make it into the environment, from my understanding the big issues started after some of the recent hurricanes. There was even breeding farms that got wiped out.
The only way you can prevent these species from becoming an issue is to never let them in to begin with. Even with strict controls it's going to be hard enough to prevent these problems.
I will start worrying when Pythons are taking over Yellowstone Park, and with global warming, that may not be too far away.
The projections I've seen suggest they will spread to much of the Southeast states as far north as the Carolina's or possibly into the Virgina's and Maryland. They are really unsure how much cold they will be able to handle, the big concern is if they cross breed with native snake and take on the genes that allow them to live in colder climate.
Sorry. I'm not clear on what you think is shameful and a national disgrace?
The government not acting on it years ago?
Personally, I think what is shameful and a national disgrace are the clueless ying-yangs who were personally irresponsible and dumped their snakes into an eco system that was never meant to support them.
There is some evidence that the "ying-yangs" may not be the only ones responsible for letting them loose. The hurricane that wiped out Homestead may have also released them from the zoo. There were a number of other animals that got loose when the zoo was damaged, and not all the snakes were recovered.
It's not just pythons A couple of months ago, animal planet did a piece on people that were bitten by poisonous snakes. A resident of Miami was working in his back yard and was bitten by a slender green snake. It turned out to be a Green African Mamba. The hope is that it is the only one and will not be able to reproduce.
Pythons, in the wild, seem to be interbreeding as well. A Burmese Python is huge. A Rock Python is very aggressive. Mix the two and you have a very aggressive, huge snake. Again, if you watch Animal Planet, Swamp Wars, you'll be able to see the guys that are always catching pythons around the Miami area.
While they seem to be most heavily concentrated in the southeast part of Florida, they have been found pythons north of Orlando, along the gulf coast areas. Unchecked, they are expected to spread as far north as Tennessee, and eventually all southern states. Currently, snakes kept as pets are required to have microchips. I would hate to have them find a snake, with a microchip registered to me, in the wild. I don't know what the fine is, and I don't expect to find out the hard way. I do not have any snakes.
But, it's not just pythons. There are also Nile Monitor Lizards and a species of rat that grows quite large that have been imported and released. All are considered "invasive".
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But of course, I would never ever do such a thing!!
