Python Elimination Program (2024)

FAQs

Is the python elimination program working? ›

As of January 2023, over 18,000 pythons have been removed in the state of Florida. Of that total, over 11,000 pythons have been removed by FWC PATRIC and SFWMD PEP contractors since program inception in spring 2017.

She'd be paid by the hour – between $13 (£10.22) and $18 (£14.15) depending on where she was out hunting, for up to 10 hours – and a bounty for every python she caught. Fifty dollars for every python under 4ft (1.2m). Another $25 (£19.65) per foot.

The FWC does not offer compensation for pythons except to contracted members of the PATRIC Program and winners during the Florida Python Challenge^®. View the interactive map featuring 32 Commission-managed lands where you can hunt nonnative reptile like pythons year-round.

Wildlife experts in Florida recently captured 500lb worth of Burmese pythons after finding two large snake “mating balls” in the south-west of the state, as part of a continued effort to prevent the non-native species from harming Floridian wildlife.

there isn't a traditional bounty system in place for hunting pythons in Florida. However, Florida has implemented programs and events that encourage the removal of invasive Burmese pythons from the ecosystem. These programs often include incentives and rewards for hunters who successfully capture and remove pythons.

The entire thing reeks of being semi-scripted and plays more like a video game scenario than anything that would happen in real life. Anyway, it's still mildly entertaining (the yelling "OHH!" every time a snake tries to bite them is a little annoying), it just isn't real.

Florida Python Management: Snakes caught are euthanized humanely (CO2 chamber, injection, etc.).

After rendering the reptile unconscious, ensure the animal's brain is destroyed by “pithing”. Insert a small rod (a rigid metal tool like a screwdriver, spike or pick) into the cranial cavity using deliberate, multi-directional movement, ensuring destruction of the entire brain.

According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), there are "tens of thousands of invasive Burmese pythons" living in the Everglades. However, Florida Fish and Wildlife put the figure between 100,000 to 300,000.

Natusch himself also has sampled python barbecued, slow-cooked, sauteed and as curry and jerky. He described it as a white meat with the texture of calamari with a taste he likens to chicken.

What do swamp people do with the pythons? ›

The Python Elimination Program started in 2017 and incentivizes a limited number of public-spirited individuals to humanely euthanize these destructive snakes which have become an invasive apex predator in the Everglades.

Last year's challenge brought in 209 pythons and the grand prize winner was Paul Hobbs, who bagged 20 pythons. Also during 2023, Florida wildlife agency and district contractors removed about 2,200 pythons.

Sometimes, scientists ask to get the pythons alive so that they can be tracked. Hunters like Crum deposit them in designated drop boxes during night hunts and email researchers to come get them in the morning.

They have been reported as far north as Gainesville and as far south as Miami near Everglades City. Seven green anacondas have been removed from Florida by the FWC and others as of October 2020. "Being semi-aquatic, they can easily traverse dry land or lakes and rivers, which makes Florida a good habitat for them."

Contractors are paid hourly – $13 or $18, depending on the area – for removal efforts. Additionally, freelancers earn $50 for each python up to 4 feet long, plus $25 for each additional foot. They also receive $200 per nest removal field-verified by FWC. Online applications are accepted year-round.

Florida Python Management: Snakes caught are euthanized humanely (CO2 chamber, injection, etc.).

Invasive impact. Burmese pythons in the state of Florida are classified as an invasive species. They disrupt the ecosystem by preying on native species, outcompeting native species for food or other resources, and/or disrupting the physical nature of the environment.

With the Burmese python now distributed across more than a thousand square miles of southern Florida, including all of Everglades National Park and across the southern coast to Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, the chances of eliminating the snake completely from the region is low.

The Challenge is Ineffective

If you look at the figures of participants in the Florida Python Challenge, it may seem to be reasonably effective at first glance. But when you take a closer look at the numbers, it becomes clear that this challenge barely makes a dent in the python population.