Bill would halt python imports

MIAMI, May 18 (UPI) -- A bill before the U.S. Congress would ban importation and breeding of the Burmese python and some other non-native species, Florida Everglades officials said.

The giant pythons are reproducing in the Everglades at an alarming rate, said Randy Smith, a spokesman for the South Florida Water Management District. A python captured last week stretched 16 feet long and another proved to be a pregnant female carrying 59 eggs.

The Everglades are filled with hundreds, if not thousands, of pythons -- just one of the invasive species now breeding in the 2.2 million acres of state-owned wetlands, The Miami Herald reported Monday.

District officials are backing a bill before Congress that would prevent non-native species from being imported and bred. Pet owners and breeders, however, said the bill would prevent the ownership of anything more exotic than a German Shepherd or a Siamese cat, the Herald reported.

Proponents of the bill, including the Audubon Society, said it would target only species that could pose a threat to wildlife, such as the Burmese python and the raccoon-sized Gambian pouched rat, the Herald reported.