With the killing? Or against?

[clint545]

I think there are a few ways to go about it without having to kill all of them. I'd like to say have some sort of bounty on live animals caught and brought in, but the downside of that would be, you'd have inexperienced people out there trying to catch large snakes and lizards for a quick buck.
And even if they are brought in, what are they going to do with them, a zoo or a hobbyist with a big heart can only take in so many large animals and take care of them.

I guess what I'm trying to say is, there might be a decent way to take care of the problem, but they're end up killing them in the long run. It's the easiest and quickest way

[lostwithin]

Unfortunately I have to side with the "kill them" side, as much as I may think they are beautiful animals, any introduced species they will only do harm to the ecosystem, and there is nothing we can do about it other then too kill them, they are wild so should be collected for captivity and even if we were to collect them there is no room for them that’s why they probably were released in the first place. They also cannot be relocated to their native habitats because that would be just as damaging if not more to there native systems. And it is obvious that we cannot allow them to continue reproducing in the wild and destroying the native ecosystem. So whets left?? Kill them, its all we can do, and even those who think "killing a few of them wont help" it has unfortunately been proven time and time again that humans are experts at pushing species into extinction, this is just one case where it should be encouraged, so if we can spend resources trying to save animals and still they get hunted into extinction I'm sure we can handle wiping out a species when its encouraged.
It’s the sad but true.

Devon

[chong_python]

To bad burmese python is not a food source . lol



Its a hard question for me (and im sure im talkin about many other as well) to answer this question being the herp lovers that we all are. But ask yourselves, if lions tigers and other high threat cat species came over, becoming a majority....would you thoguhts be the same, you think we should leave them to prey on our native wildlife( and in some cases our food ), reproduce adapt, and evuntually take over the world? hahaha -- a bit extreme but you can ctach my drift lol

[lostwithin]

hey there’s an idea, turn our mistake into something that might be temporarily useful. There are thousands of starving people who I’m sure wouldn’t turn down a nice meal of python meat. We have to kill them all any way, why not process them and let somebody benefit from our mistake. It may seem weird to us, but that just us lots of people eat reptiles. Good thinking even if it was meant as a joke that is one of the best ideas I have heard,


Devon

[bistrobob85]

I, as a matter of fact would be willing to pay a good price for such exotic meals! I'm absolutely sure that burmese ARE a food source!! I'm actually wondering why hasn't anybody thought about breeding them for human food in North America... We only have to find the way to eat them, ask some people from Asia how they eat them and we might learn lots of interesting facts!

phil.

[marisa]

http://www.netcooks.com/recipes/Soup...reds.Soup.html

[beanersmysav]

I agree with those who say there is no right answer, but thats for the time. And I agree with those who said none of us are natives, so since none of us belong, and we randomly shoot deer, and bear and anything else you can get a permit for isn't this interfering with the "natural swing of things"? If it weren't for us whose to say that the 4 point buck you shot wouldn't grow to be a 30 pt record setting buck of some sort? I mean its rediculous to kill them because like people have said you can't kill them all and if we even come close the 5 or 6 left will find eachother and breed I'm sure. But everyones got their oppinions there is no right or wrong it just is what it is. Also on the food source idea, i do believe niles are one of the issues, and I've read that savannahs are concidered a delicacy, the nile cant be too far off them you wouldnt think.

[CamHanna]

I would argue that humans are no less native to the Americas than camels to Asia, or iguanas to the Galapagos.

Primitive camels originated in North America and crossed the same bridge that ancestral North Americans did. Iguanas boarded floating vegetation and drifted to the Galapagos, just as my European ancestors boarded a boat and found their way here.

Burmese pythons did not expand in to Florida by their own means, rather, they were planted their by another species. They are exotic and have no place outside their native range.

[concept3]

beaner, you connot even bring hunting into this. Hunting is a way of survival and a way to get FOOD. The deer are not here because a bunch of people brought them here stuffed them in a pen and let them loose. Humans killing deer IS natural, burmese pythons in florida are NOT. At least use a valid comparison.

[beanersmysav]

im sorry but i cannot think of one hunter who acctually needs the food? Those who do probably dont use nor can they afford a liscense especially the way NY is getting with the prices. In my oppinion it is a valid comparison. And truthfully how do you know for sure burmese were never in florida? Ever heard of the great continental divide. Sure maybe they werent but we know jack and we shouldnt interfere with nature in my oppinion weither they get there by a human releasing them, being there naturally or evolving from something else in the area. Also im not totally against hunting, native americans who hunted were justified and the playing field was level they used spears and such we use guns multiple speeds of the animal, come on now if you can afford a gun and liscense you can afford food

[CamHanna]

Yes, we do have some effective hunting tools; but is it not our right to gain an advantage over our prey? Chimpanzees hunt with saliva on a stick, and Egyptian vultures obtain some of their prey (i.e. eggs) with a falling rock. Our tools are more effective but I don't believe we can break any rules (survival of the fittest) simply by being too smart. Are cheetahs too fast?

It is true that those who hunt deer could almost certainly afford farmed food, but why is it less appropriate to hunt deer? The production of alternative animals likely has a more drastic impact on the environment as these animals require a tremendous amount of energy and land (for housing, food production and waste disposal) as well as employees and products (drugs, tools, electronics and so on) to be maintained. Deer are comparatively inexpensive, for the hunter and for the environment. We are a 'natural' predator of deer; they are our 'natural' prey.

Returning to the original topic, I think it would be interesting (as GaryD suggested) to see stomach contents of the pythons.

[concept3]

I would rather eat meat from a deer than that of a growth hormone steroid pumped cow that lived its life trapped in a pen peppered with its own fecal matter.

[nat_the_brat]

not to mention the environmental impact that cattle herds have left on the enviroment particulary in the once forested regions of south america and not to mention in any other country with a large beef industry. Hunting deer is much more enviro friendly than eating cattle however there isnt enough deer or any wildlife for that matter to sustain a population like n. america unless everyone would volunteer to drastically cut back their meet consumption.

as for the exotics in non-native areas... I would much rather go after the jerks who dumped them. I would think twice if I knew there was going to be a severe fine and /or jail time. But then you get into the whole messy matter of tracking animals and who owns them and what animals found dumped belong to who... I agree though that preserving the natural habitat and natural organisms living in that ecosystem should be and have to be protected from alien species.

some people use the argument that everything in n. america is basically non native anyways but through evolution those animals were selected by nature to fill certain niches which balances the system so that there's enough to sustain the varying populations. Simply introducing an alien species is not evolution nor is it something that ecosystems adapt to without having to sacraficing native species that compete for the same niches as the introduced ones.

[nat_the_brat]

sorry for typos... finished writing some term papers and brain isn't working anymore.

[JimmyDavid]

Not too long ago, some of you posted that you couldn't see a rat or g.pig being constricted (poor little things) and now i find some of the same saying "kill em' all" when it comes to reptiles. I don't understand...