A warrior using a gun to kill a php?  , Forbidden.
What about killing the serpent by freezing it?  , Prohibited.
A vehicle runs over a php?  , Never allowed.
These types of murders have happened before, though often. How does one go about effectively killing a serpent in the state-run Python Challenge, which sends hunters searching the Everglades for them each time? Information about the deaths of almost 1, 000 hunted snakes , come to light in data that document the state’s police work.
The condition information, reviewed by the , South Florida Sun Sentinel, illustrate the many instances reptiles were appropriately captured and killed. Additionally, they record the proportion of snakes that were n’t. The organizations behind the game continue to adjust the rules to prevent fraud and reduce any irresponsible snake slashing, according to the records, which date from 2013 to 2023.
There is vigilance to ensure snakes do n’t suffer. Additionally, the approaching issue may have more rules in store.
” We take the issue of humane treatment of all creatures really, really seriously”, said , Mike Kirkland, a senior invasive animal biologist with the , South Florida Water Management District, which operates a python builder system and help with the country’s Python Challenge.
Here’s a closer look at the work.
A favorite competition
The battle draws people from around the world to , South Florida , to eliminate Burmese iguanas for activity. The state claims that the competition raises important awareness of the harm the Everglades are suffering from intrusive pythons. Last month, more than 1, 000 hunting participated in the event.
Finalists of the competition will receive cash prizes, including those who catch the longest reptiles in the most competition, both professionally and militarily.
A key issue generally is if the snakes are kindly treated, which involves “pithing”, or the human destruction of a python’s brain to reduce any pain or suffering. Reptiles express pain or suffering differently from animals, with the exception of clear ways in which they do not react to it much.
” A animal might yell out, you know, if you have a dog or cat, it hurts its hand, it might floppy or it might whimper”, Kirkland said. I’ll talk to my wife all day about my chilly, just like I’d talk about it myself. However, reptiles exhibit a little more stoicism and do n’t express themselves in the same way.
For a serpent to be kindly treated, two , critical steps , may be taken.
The first step is to use an air gun or a shotgun to kill the snake before it is rendered incapacitated.
The pithing piece begins in the next step. A device such as a screwdriver, get or rise is jammed into the spider’s head to crush its brain, rarely an easy process.
Iguanas “are very adaptable creatures”, Kirkland said. Any spinal column-to-brain connection may indicate that the dog is also awake. So that’s why pithing as a supplementary death process is required”.
Minding the laws
Hosting the competition has led to a staff- up of numerous entities: The , Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission  , and , South Florida Water Management District , get support from the , University of Florida. UF was first contracted and paid by SFWMD in 2013 to “provide science support”, said , Frank Mazzotti, a UF wildlife ecology professor.
Because of its” the staff, facilities, and experience necessary to be the objective third-party experts for these events,” Kirkland continued.
The UF methodical approach to necropsy exams, which “eliminates any concerns of bias for any of the challenge participants,” Kirkland said. UF also determines metrics, such as the length of each snake captured, and from that information, contest winners are selected.
Prize determinations are conducted by the , Fish and Wildlife Foundation of Florida , with the FWC and SFWMD, based on the data collected by UF, which informs of any potential issues, an FWC spokesperson wrote in an email.
Records from the FWC and UF — obtained by the , Sun Sentinel , in response to a public- records request — show that a system, often color coded, is employed to flag captured pythons for a range of actions that go against the rules, such as turning in snakes that have n’t been killed properly, snakes captured and killed outside of the contest boundaries, or snakes that are not pythons at all but rather native to the Everglades, such as a salt marsh snake. Some of these actions had negative effects, such as having competitors lose the challenge or having pythons lose out on the total contest prize money.
Snakes may be flagged in different colors according to the 2021 state’s records “based on the potential elimination of the snakes or the contestant.”
No one color- coded flagging system is the identical, though. Each year’s contest has seen a different iteration.
In 2021, three marks were given to three snakes that were killed by a firearm, which is prohibited.
In 2020, a hunter was eliminated from the challenge for freezing snakes, which is considered an inhumane method of euthanasia.
Pythons are not included in the total python count, and in 2023, two marks were awarded to snakes that had been hit by a car, according to the records.
” There’s been an evolution of the color schemes”, Mazzotti said. ” There’s been an evolution of concerns over participant behavior. We’ve tried to get better every year”.
Documenting concerns
The scrutiny that is given to dead snakes is highlighted by the state records.
In one snake’s case in the 2023 contest, the level of its brain destruction was uncertain. Similar observations, some generating more gruesome imagery than others, were jotted down for other pythons, resulting in a range of marks, explaining why a competitor’s catch was flagged. “Skull destroyed beyond what would be expected. … Seemed a bit over the top”, one entry notes.
In 2023, of the , 209 total pythons , counted as being removed during the challenge, there were 40 snakes flagged, with 24 of the 40 receiving a mark for insufficient pithing.
In 2022, of the official , 231 snakes removed for the challenge, about 40 of the nearly 100 that were flagged noted pithing issues.
At least 40 of the 223 pythons who had been flagged for the challenge received notes about pithing issues or arriving at the check station alive by 2021. Often, those pythons claim that their brains were not completely destroyed or that they were not pitiful at all.
A color-coded flagging system appears to be in place in 2020, but it differs from the ones that follow. Factors like euthanasia by freezing and missing coordinates of a captured python were given scores.
The only other challenges prior to 2020 were in 2016 and 2013, when it did not appear to have color-coded systems to the same levels as more recent years, but detailed notes about each submission and disqualifiers are still present. In the majority of cases, a snake still counted toward the total python count even though it was flagged. This does not mean that it did not contribute to the challenge’s total python count.
Over time, Mazzotti noted that the rules, flagging systems, and overall guidance have evolved.
” There’s been a constant evolution, and as problems were recognized, we took steps to correct them”, he said.
Lessons learned
At the conclusion of the competitions, UF created summary reports that provide an overview of the events and make future recommendations.
For instance, UF recommended that participants have access to a detailed video that demonstrates proper euthanasia techniques in the 2023 report, with a particular emphasis on proper brain pinning.
In order to prevent snakes captured outside of the challenge deadline and from being submitted, UF advised participants to check their vehicles before entering and when leaving the approved search area in 2021.
With 2024’s challenge set to launch soon — last year’s was  an announcement was made on May 24; Mazzotti stated that UF and the other participating organizations would discuss any new concerns and requirements that need to be more specific.
The intention is to avoid going on a disqualification spree. According to Mazzotti, the challenge was created with the intention of piqueing people’s interest.
” We’re very flexible and very adaptive”, he said.
However, disqualifications do still occur, especially if the requirements for euthanasia are not met.
According to Kirkland,” In the past, individual snakes were disqualified but other entries were permitted by the same participant.” ” But if that was the case, it’s no longer the case. If a participant’s python is disqualified from the entire event because it did not comply with the UF examiners ‘ criteria for euthanasia, that participant will now be exempt from the event.
” Any disqualifications, though rare, just go to show how seriously we take the humane treatment of these invasive animals while simultaneously protecting our native wildlife”.
Serpent fraud?
Other marks have been made over the years, including incomplete information on when and where snakes were taken, snakes that were still alive, or snakes that had been taken and killed without being challenged.
” Say a month before the competition, you catch a 14- footer and you go,’ Oh maybe I can win with this,'” Mazzotti said. ” So you put it in the freezer”.
The consequences for those who are suspected of engaging in serpent fraud, however, could be dire. A python contractor could be fired from the challenge if they falsified information during it.
How many python hunters have been killed, or what exactly happened to them? No one who was in charge of the contest provided accurate information about enforcement.
They could also be kicked out of the FWC or SFWMD’s ongoing python-elimination efforts if the hunters happen to be a part of them.  , SFWMD only has 50 contractor spots, and the agency gets 100 new applications every week, Kirkland said.
” If you’re going to try to cheat, per se, in any way, shape or form, that would be a very big risk to give up your privileges for one of the most coveted positions in the state”, Kirkland said.
‘ I love pythons ‘
For those considering competing in the python challenges or a career in python hunting, SFWMD python elimination specialist , Donna Kalil , believes they should be free from common misconceptions about the activity.
People should n’t enter into this realm for money, if they think they’ll be slinging snakes every night or if they tend to be impatient. Poor vision might not be a great asset, either, she said.
Kalil, who has competed in all six python challenges and, as of Wednesday, caught 863 pythons throughout her entire career as a hunter, said she lives a nearly nocturnal life hunting pythons four nights a week because she’s an environmentalist.
” If you do n’t love being out there, you have no reason to be out looking for pythons because if you’re not finding them, you’re not going to enjoy your time”, she said.
Like many other python hunters and scientists, killing the animal is Kalil’s least favorite part.
” I love pythons. They’re beautiful”, she said. ” Unfortunately they do n’t belong there, through no fault of their own, but they do n’t belong, and they’re causing so much havoc to our native species. … It’s one python to several 100 animals that it’s going to take out”.
” It’s not an easy thing to do”, she said.
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