A python hunter who removes invasive Burmese pythons shows a recent catch at a service plaza near Miami on April 23, 2021. MIAMI — The voracious Burmese python has done widespread damage to the Everglades food chain, pretty much wiping out populations of small mammals like marsh bunnies and gulping down everything from birds to alligators.
So while snake farms supplanting cattle ranches across Florida may seem far-fetched, lead study author Daniel Natusch finds the prospect of commercial python production intriguing.told the Miami Herald in a phone call from Cairns, Australia. “It would hugely reduce not just emissions but create resilience in our agricultural systems, and it would cost less to be producing these animals.
They also don’t need much space and don’t eat often — generally only once a week — and they can go months without drinking keeping hydrated by dew on their skin. For one thing, while it’s legal to eat wild-caught python meat in Florida, that’s definitely not recommended by state officials. “Having a farm that might have one or two escapees wouldn’t be the end of the world, because the worlds already ended as far as snake issues,” he said.Salmon fishing banned off the California coast for the second year in a row