MIAMI, March 6 (UPI) -- As Burmese pythons spread out of the Everglades National Park to the rest of South Florida, legislators are hoping to keep new snakes out of the country.
The python is one of the largest snakes, growing to be more than 20 feet long and weighing 250 pounds. Most of the snakes in the Everglades are believed to be pets dumped when they became too large for their owners or their descendants, since they are now breeding.
A bill sponsored by U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., would list the Burmese python immediately as an injurious species, banning it from the pet trade. Another bill introduced in the House would require the evaluation of all imported species.
Pet dealers are fighting both bills, arguing they are too broad.
Pythons have been found in Key Largo, south of the Everglades, where they could wipe out the endangered Key wood rat.
On Thursday, biologists at Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge were given training in handling big snakes. Pythons have not shown up yet in the refuge in the northern Everglades, but officials assume that they are on their way.
