From the wilds of Ghana and Indonesia to the wilds of Florida
September 26th, 2009 by admin
This week the Sun-Sentinel newspaper released an extraordinary database of U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service records providing information about live python shipments into the United States.
In the first half of 2009, over 40,000 pythons were imported into Miami!
Most of these snakes were bred in captivity, but 3,375 of the Ball pythons and 91 of the Calabar Ground pythons that arrived in Miami were captured from the wild in Ghana. 225 Reticulated pythons, 75 Blood pythons, and a couple dozen individuals of other species, were captured from the wild in Indonesia before being shipped to Florida.
These unfortunate snakes who began their lives in the forests and fields of Indonesia, or the grasslands of Africa, are doomed to a dull life in a glass aquarium. And as we have seen, many will escape or be intentionally released into backyards and natural lands in Florida.
You Can Help
Senate Bill 373, introduced by Florida’s U.S. Senator Bill Nelson, would prohibit the import and interstate transport of several species of pythons. Although the bill would not eliminate the many thousands of pythons already in the Everglades and surrounding areas, it would close a major gateway and help to prevent pythons from becoming established elsewhere in the country. (Learn more about the legislation here.)
Please contact Florida’s new U.S. Senator, George LeMieux, and urge him to sign on as a co-sponsor of Senate Bill 373.
Contact:
Senator George S. LeMieux
Phone: (202) 224-3041
E-mail: info@lemieux.senate.gov