South Florida on "Python Patrol"

CNN released an article this morning on the growing problem of pythons in the Florida Everglades. These nonvenomous snakes can grow to be more than 20 feet long and weigh up to 200 pounds!

The problem the Python Patrol is wrestling with is that these huge snakes are drastically changing the ecosystem in southern Florida. With a lifespan of up to 30 years and the ability to eat large animals whole, they pose a threat to the endangered species that find refuge in the Florida Everglades. During necropsies, or autopsies performed on non-human beings, biologists are finding all manner of animals in the stomachs of the pythons, among them alligators and bobcats.

How are these snakes, native to southeast Asia, being introduced into the ecosystem in Florida, you ask? It seems that unknowing people are releasing them into the wild there once their pet python outgrows its cage and wears out its welcome in their home. Because the climate in south Florida is similar to their natural habitat, the snakes are able to flourish and reproduce in the Everglades.

Now that you have the back story, here is my problem with this situation. Am I sympathetic to what's happening in south Florida? Yes. Do I think the pythons need to be removed from that ecosystem to protect its endangered wildlife? Sure. But in the last paragraph of CNN's article, we discover that these snakes aren't being turned over to zoos to live out the rest of their lives in a safe habitat. They are being killed and studied.

I am no snake lover by any means. In fact, my house rule is that no pet that could potentially eat my other pets is allowed. I cried for the frozen pinkies my brother's snake ate when we were kids. But to kill these animals who are doing nothing other than following their instinct seems inhumane to me.

I think the real solution to this problem needs to be public education and a little common sense. People: do NOT buy a snake that grows to be 20 feet long and 200 pounds - at some not-too-distant point that foot-long hatchling will be too much for you. And then what? Dumping it in an environment where is is not meant to be is a death sentence for the snake and a major problem for the ecosytem into which you are introducing it.