Feb 19, 2013

Everglades FL: 1,600 people from 30 states converge on Everglades to slaughter pythons in competition for prizes

This is hardly a civilized or successful way to deal with invasive species :-(

Hunters kill 68 snakes during month-long 'Python Challenge' to help with infestation plague in Everglades | Mail Online
ARKive photo - Burmese python laying eggs
"Python Challenge' officials announced on Saturday that just 68 snakes were killed during the public hunt that attracted 1,600 people from over 30 states in the hope of cash prizes."


There is scientific information about the Burmese Python (Python bivittatus) at the following International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources link:
http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/193451/0


Pythons should live in their native habitat. I would like to see government scientists address the problem themselves in an orderly and compassionate manner instead of enlisting blood-thirsty civilians.

Moreover, devastation to the Everglades has been wrought largely by humans. There has been huge destruction caused to the fragile Everglades by the sugar industry. For more info see Cost to the Environment and Florida Everglades which explains:
In 2000, Congress and President Clinton approved a multi-billion dollar Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan or CERP -- the most ambitious environmental renewal effort ever -- to restore waterflows and bolster wildlife populations in South Florida. A major focus of this "replumbing" involves reversing the damage done a half century ago when the Army Corps of Engineers built a network of canals, levees and water-control structures to divert millions of gallons of water each day from the Everglades to the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. Congress also put in place legal requirements, such as required water allocations for the Everglades, to make sure that the ecosystem remains CERP's top priority and to prevent it from being hijacked to primarily serve the needs of agricultural interests and developers.

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