Florida expands python fight

[left-of-center2012]

It’s not a high-paying job, but more than 1,000 people want the chance to kill pythons in Florida’s Everglades.

The South Florida Water Management District Governing Board agreed Thursday to double its number of hunters who are trying to eradicate invasive Burmese pythons from 25 to 50. More than 1,000 are waiting for the chance. The district will choose based on level of experience, willingness to commit time and familiarity with the Everglades, water management spokesman Randy Smith said.

The going rate: $8.65 an hour, with extra bounties depending on the length of the snake. It’s an additional $50 for the first 4 feet and $25 for every foot thereafter. Hunters who catch pythons that were guarding eggs can collect an extra $200.

Since March 2017, hunters have removed more than 2,500 pythons from the Everglades in Broward, Miami-Dade, Palm Beach, Collier and Hendry counties. Pythons have eliminated more than 95 percent of the natural area’s fur-bearing animals, such as rabbits and possums.

https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/florida/fl-ne-nsf-python-hunt-expands-hunters-20190913-27j2xinourgwxark7jphztmdou-story.html

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. Good! Maybe these hunters can bring the snakes closer to being controlled. n/t

[voteearlyvoteoften]

2. Guardians of the Glades

There is a new TV series on Discovery about snake hunters in the Everglades.
These invasive beasts have multiplied exponentially and are responsible for up to 90% reductions in the populations of some native species.
They catch them bare handed and do not use weapons!