Florida’s Burmese Python Snake Problem Requires an Amnesty Program
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Florida has a Burmese Python Snake problem, too many snakes on the loose in the Florida Everglades. Either they’ve escaped from a pet store during Hurricane Andrew or else the snake owners who kept them as pets then turned the snakes loose when they got to be too much for the owner’s lifestyles. Recent estimates have the Burmese Python population at around 100,000 snakes being on the loose in the Florida Everglades. With each having the ability to lay 100 eggs at a time it’s no wonder the State of Florida became concerned for the safety of its citizens. Then this month a 2-year-old was strangled and suffocated by the girl’s parent’s Burmese Python and the State of Florida legislature flew into action. Last week the State of Florida endorsed a bounty program to rid the Everglades of these unnatural, unwanted and potentially dangerous creatures.
So what can the State of Florida do to stop pet owners from setting their pet snakes loose in the future in Florida’s natural habitat?
The answer to the problem in the Florida Everglades may lie far north in Connecticut. Connecticut’s Beardsley’s Zoo a few weekends ago held an Exotic Animal Amnesty Day, “where residents can bring in any reptiles, amphibians, birds, mammals, fish and other creatures, and leave them at the Hanson Exploration Station (just outside the 1875 Noble Ave., zoo) without penalty or consequence. All animals turned over at the event become the property of the State Department of Environmental Protection. Domestic animals, such as cats and dogs, will not be accepted.”
Pet owners who no longer want these snakes need a place to drop them off other than the Florida Everglades.
The State of Florida allows pet owners to keep Burmese Pythons, but has no plan in place for a pet owner exit strategy. The costs to eradicate and to control the errant snakes will be substantial. The risk of injury and death to its citizens is significant. Pet owners who no longer want these snakes need a place to drop them off other than the Florida Everglades. The amnesty program seems to be a workable solution. Florida State officials ought to consider it as an alternative to having no solution for controlling the problem before it became a problem. That’s the amnesty program.
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It is so easy to get mad at the parents who keep pet snakes when children are in the house or otherwise. My first reaction is to want to accuse them of being selfishly immature. On the other hand having pet snakes is legal; so how can anyone say they can’t own pet snakes. And so the other side of my brain wants to tell the State of Florida legislature they are the dumb ones, the ones that set state policy for the safety and welfare of its citizens. And so if it’s the legislature’s job to set policy that protects then do it. This is a multi-faceted problem being created by the entire cast of characters involved; including the pet owners, shops that sell the Burmese Pythons and the Florida Legislature that allows it to go on. If the legislature is going to allow it they can’t just sit around coming up with a band aid solution after-the-fact. The problem won’t ever be correctable if Floridians can own Burmese Pythons but have no place to drop them off when they can no longer handle them.