Florida Needs Python Hunters For Everglades Snake Problem

Starting from 2017, the South Florida Water Management board began to take aggressive action meant to protect the everglades and remove the invasive python species.

The institute now wants to add the numbers of people hired for the task under the Python Elimination Program.

Python hunters would get a minimum wage for up to 10 hours daily with additional payments of $50 each for pythons that measure more than 4 feet.

There are additional bonuses according to the program upwards of $200 for getting nests of eggs, and larger size finds.

The purpose of the program is to euthanize the destructive snakes humanely. They have gradually become the apex predator in the everglades according to the website of the Water Board.

In line with the advertisement, they would like to add 25 to 35 people to the program.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission maintains some of the species like the Burmese pythons are native to Asia.

As such, they are negatively affecting the native wildlife in and around the Everglade ecosystem within the South Florida system.

The pythons are typically between six and ten feet long. They are also capable of climbing which poses a threat to all levels of wildlife within the area as the snakes do not have any natural predators.

Florida currently has 35 snake hunters that are hired full time in the Everglades.

The state officials claim the pythons have become a big threat to the ecosystem as they heavily prey on rabbits and birds. They are competing for the same prey as the natural predators like panthers and crocodiles.

The result could lead to a shortage of food and threaten of some species numbers which are typically supposed to thrive there.

It is not an invitation to wantonly kill all pythons in any manner in the everglades. The state legislation allows the pythons to be humanely killed on private lands at any time provided the landowner has given their permission.

The practitioners need no permits.

Since the python elimination program started more than 2,500 pythons have been killed under the auspices of the act. It has proven so effective the Water Management District is petitioning the addition of $750,000 from the state for the sake of the program’s funding.

The program director Mike Kirkland told media outlets the process has been very successful. That is in terms of the snakes removed from the ecosystem and the cost-effectiveness of the system.

To be considered for the program, the applicant has to be 18 years old and have no criminal record. The removal agents also utilize GPS tracking to log their time hunting and tracking the pythons.