I just want to vent about Florida's "money grubbing" approach to having a python snake hunt as a serious approach to fixing their Everglades snake problem.
They want to eliminate the snakes, right?
Of course!
Then why would they inhibit the number of snake hunters by charging a fee to go out after the pythons.
If the snake hunters are doing a public good and beneficial ecology service, then they should be welcomed with a "Come one, Come All. With no restrictions, no permits and no fees!!

I'll second that!

I totally agree but than what about Ranchers charging for prairie dog shooting? I know the shooters say they are providing a necessary service and that it isn't about getting their jollies over the red mist. Yet they pay to do it. The same rational can be made about piggies in a number of the southern states.
I'm really not being condescending but I've not traveled this life with blinders on. Fact is there are those that get a kick out of killing stuff and will pay to do it. As long as those with the power know this they are going to try to make a little cash out of it.
The days of getting a bounty for pest or predator removal are fading into the sunset. roger

remember that one of the reasons people pay is because they don't know where to go. example - i'm from minnesota, how would i know where to go in the everglades without some help??

Remember the scene from Jaws where everybody that had a tub that would float was out shark hunting?

It's because of our stupid governor, Slick Rick Scott. He'll sign anything if he thinks it will bring in a dime, and veto anything that might cost a dime.
joe

I guess it's too 'simple' to just offer a $10 per inch bounty, eh?

Hell if they just offered $10 per snake and let you keep the skins. The meat isn't safe because they tend to build up toxins especially heavy metals like mercury. Truth is it would be way cheaper than all the "research" they have done. It would also have an impact right now! Lots of hunters would be willing to do it. In fact the only thing holding most of us back was the damn regulations or out and out ban on hunting them in the areas that needed it most. They are invasive and destructive. They need to be killed wherever and whenever they are found. We are already 10 years behind the curve!!!

1. The pythons are in Florida and in my opinion they will NEVER be eliminated.

2. From my cousin in Florida, the word is that the regulations aren't so much to make money as to gather python data.

3. Even if they don't offer a bounty, you can sell the skins and if you get a big one, you'll get more than $10.

4. I see no reason you couldn't eat python any more than you shouldn't eat other predators such as the fish that concentrate toxins that many find appetizing. Then there are pigs that will eat anything remotely edible; how many of ya'll like bacon? You should have experienced the pig coral in Mexico that served as the bathroom for the family I stayed with. I'm a vegetarian by the way.

quote:

Originally posted by Grumulkin:
Then there are pigs that will eat anything remotely edible; how many of ya'll like bacon? You should have experienced the pig coral in Mexico that served as the bathroom for the family I stayed with. I'm a vegetarian by the way.

Their crop fertilizer came from the same coral. At least that's what I heard from Josie Honeybucket. roger

Has anybody trained a dog to smell the pythons?

Have the dog in the bow of the boat and then 'alert' when she hits python scent, kind of like the mountain lion hunters do.

quote:

Originally posted by k-22hornet:
Has anybody trained a dog to smell the pythons?

Not only do I think that's a fantastic idea but I think it would work. You'd just have to get a python to train the dog with.

I smell a reality show!

I once knew a fellow who had a pet Burmese Python, and I can most definitely assure you that snakes are smelly. I think the dog idea is terrific.

I just read in the latest issue of (pro-hunting) Nature Conservancy
magazine that researchers are using a dog to find rare salamanders for a census study. That little hound worked perfectly. Go get those snakes!!