Pythons in the Everglades - government oversight/response (enemy, generations, legal)
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Look it up, I heard it on the radio & my stations are Armed Forces Network stations, so they're not the feared liberal bias.
Here's a link or two, but I'm sure these aren't the sources from AFN...
http://thinkprogress.org/economy/201...des/?mobile=nc House Republicans, notably, derided this regulation as damaging to small businesses and job creation, going so far as to bring a snake breeder to testify before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, who said the rule could “devastate a small but thriving sector of the economy.”
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-16791094 But reptile breeders and collectors had disputed that the tropical snakes posed much risk beyond south Florida and argued that any ban would harm a multi-million dollar industry.
Confirming part of the first link.
Last edited by chielgirl; 02-20-2012 at 02:26 PM..
Bugs are a little trickier but they can be eliminated too. Just modify their genes with mutations that will make them weaker and let them breed to circulate the bad genes. Just weakening the immune systems of cockroaches would put a large dent in their population. Unfortunately, the biggest hurdle to eliminating cockroaches are humans that are against genetically modifying anything.
I feel so ashamed for not having been aware of the problem earlier, although since I learned of the situation (I live in PA and actually rarely think about the Everglades) a few weeks ago have written to several government contacts responsible for such oversight asking why they were not taking action years ago, and what they are doing now. This is shameful, and a national disgrace.
Anyone have a close connection to the Everglades, or involved with working on this problem to give any insight into what the future prospects look like? Many animals have already been killed by a non-native, and that is tragic, but is there hope that pythons can be reduced significantly enough to allow native populations to bounce back, or be repopulated?
Wait, government regulation of things is bad right. We should let the free market work. That's what's happening here.
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I don't see this as a major issue. We are human beings. We are capable of wiping out any species that we choose. If people in Asia can accidentally wipe a species from the face of the earth then I know Americans will not have any trouble eliminating an invasive species. If my state government tells me that we have a problem with an invasive species and they need my help to take care of the problem then I'm ready to help.
Really? Humans have been trying to wipe out rats for as long as, well, there have been humans. Tell me, how's that going??
Yes this was brought up by the MSN a few years ago. I echo the thoughts of another poster, why is this a government problem, a national disgrace and what's to be ashamed over?
This problem could easily be taken care of, have the fashion industry make Python and Anaconda skins "the" thing to wear on people's feet, to have one's luggage made out of, handbags and such. Problem will disappear in a year.
People like the OP could fund contests, the person who kills the most snakes gets a new vehicle of their choice.
Animal rights groups could mount foray's into the Everglades to catch and deport these snakes back to their home environments where they have natural enemies.
One way or another sooner or later species will make they way into new habitats and either the local species adapt to the new threat of they die.
Simple elegant natural evolution...
The state of Florida, in its infinite wisdom, decided that one has to have a permit and a season to hunt pythons.
They are all the way up here in Central Florida, we saw one not long ago.
Poor thing died from fright!
IIRC part of the GOP resistance to the python ban at the national level was that the State of Florida had already passed laws regulating invasive species - so they saw no need for a national ban.
More wildlife was affected in the Everglades by the aggressive water "management" or rather mismanagement policies in Florida over the decades, than a few pythons loose. No one seems to scream and rant about that issue...I guess it is not too sensational to write headlines about greedy farmers in Florida who took acres of water from normal drainage and turned the Everglades into a virtual desert, eliminating and descimating animal habitat. That is the real crime, and completely changed the landscape of the Everglades. But no one cares about that virtual environmental rape. Let's just blame pythons for all of the problems.
We have a similar situation here in Idaho. A non-native species has been released and is decimating wildlife, particularly elk herds. The elk populations are crashing in many areas. This same released species is also responsible for the loss of a lot of pets.
Unfortunately, the ones that introduced them are the Federal Government, over the opposition of the state and localities. The species-wolves, a particularly large sub-species transplanted from Northern Canada.
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.
All of the above is pretty disgraceful, I think, but at the most basic level it does start with the individual idiots interfering with the stability of a prized natural wonder and their judgment regarding the consequences of their actions. Plus, taxpayers have invested a lot of money protecting that ecosystem, and the designated government agencies should have more stridently managed this issue as it emerged.
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Originally Posted by Little-Acorn
It's a sign of how far we've fallen, that for some reason people keep turning to government for these solutions.
So you don't think that monitoring what is brought into U.S. territory, e.g., potentially invasive and destructive pests, human carriers of contagious diseases, terrorists, illegal immigrants, etc., and then taking action to correct problems that arise when foreign parasites/pests do start to destabilize existing U.S. systems is a job for the government? That sounds like anarchy, or some sort of antisocial dictatorship or unprecedented utopian society.
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