Comment period open on proposal to ban import of pythons that are bedevilling Everglades NP
The public comment period is now open on a proposal by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to ban the importation and interstate transportation of the Burmese python and eight other larger constrictor snakes.
Back in January Interior Secretary Ken Salazar called for the prohibitions in a bid to help officials in Everglades National Park, and other areas, combat the spread of these non-native snakes that are a threat to native wildlife. Specifically, he wants the snakes to be listed as "injurious wildlife" under the Lacey Act.
Burmese pythons -- and other non-native species -- long have been a problem in the Everglades; there have been estimates that as many as 10,000 pythons are slithering through south Florida. More than 1,200 of the snakes have been removed from Everglades National Park since 2000, according to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials.