Exotic Pet Trade Essay

Pythons’ devastating effects on Florida’s environment as a result of the exotic pet trade

The exotic pet trade is a multi-billion dollar market that sells animals typically not being held as

pets to its customers. Pythons have become a particularly popular selling item in the exotic pet

trade; through their release into nature, these non-native snakes have invaded Florida's

environment and have been wreaking havoc upon the Everglades' native endangered and non-

endangered animal populations alike, and pose a potential threat to humans.

Before most foreign species are released into Florida's natural environment, they are pets

of owners who either collect exotic animals or just relish in the sheer satisfaction of owning an

animal
which is commonly feared:

According to the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), the exotic pet trade is a

multi-billion dollar industry, second only to drugs and weapons on the black market. It's a $15

billion dollar business in the United States alone, with breeders and dealers selling animals over

the Internet or in trade magazines.
Millions of animals are forced into the exotic pet trade every

year for the purpose of becoming someone's pet or entertaining the masses in a circus or roadside

zoo. (Facts about the Exotic Pet Trade).

In Florida, pythons have caused damage to Florida's environment after being

purposefully released into the wild or by pet owners who fail to confine their snakes properly

which leads to accidental escapes. Pythons are one of the largest snakes in the world (FWC) and

prospective owners don't always fully understand how considerably massive, dangerous, and out

of control these constrictors can become. When care-taking has become an overwhelming task,

many snake owners make the decision to abandon their pet and release them into the Florida

Everglades or leave them on the doorstep of an exotic pet shop (Forbidden Creatures 153).

Vast varieties of flying, aquatic, and land-dwelling species, endangered as well as non-

endangered, inhabit the Everglades. Most of these animals are vulnerable and defenseless

to these colossal snakes. Pythons consume a wide variety of species and due to their massive
size

not even alligators pose much of a threat and often become prey rather than a predator to the

snakes, "In Florida, Burmese pythons have been found to prey upon a variety of mammals, birds,

and even alligators." (FWC). In fact, these snakes do not have many predators besides humans

and alligators found in the Everglades (FWC). As a result of this, the numbers of native

mammals and birds in the Everglades have been steadily decreasing. For example, marsh rabbits

and foxes have become practically non-existent and white-tailed deer as well as opossums have

become sparse in areas where the pythons have “established themselves” (Redorbit). According

to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission: "They prey upon native species and

may reduce their populations locally…While pythons will eat common native species and exotic

species…, they can also consume threatened or endangered native species." Not even Florida’s

State animal, the Florida panther, which is on the list of endangered animals, is safe from the

invasion of the pythons (Redorbit).

In addition to threatening the delicate ecosystem of the Everglades, pythons also pose a

potential threat to humans. In the Everglades National Park alone, there have been five separate

occurrences of unprovoked attacks in a span of ten years that involved biologists and pythons

(Science Daily). In 2009, as reported by the Sumter County Sheriff's Office, an 8-foot, 6-inch

python escaped from its enclosure and strangled a 2-year-old girl. The reptile, owned by Charles

Darnell and Jaren Hare, was found in the girl's room coiled around the toddler (Tampa Bay

Times). This tragic incident shows why owning a reptile of the size of a python is incredibly

dangerous and can lead to unpredictable situations.

People involved in the exotic pet trade who are often python owners themselves take

opposition to the notion that these massive snakes can become harmful to humans. Aaron

Joyce, a pet shop owner in Lake Worth, stated that “…Everybody’s just up in arms about this

huge, scaly, …, big-toothed snake that ate a little girl. Or tried to.” (Forbidden Creatures 154).

Mr. Joyce’s argument is clearly motivated by his own fascination with snakes. He seems rather

uninformed for an exotic pet shop owner and clearly motivated by the extensive profits the

exotic pet trade has offered him as he also minimizes the threat to Florida’s ecosystem:

”Burmese pythons do have natural predators, unlike what people have reported…King snakes,

alligators, birds of prey, and now humans” (Forbidden Creatures 155). A study conducted by

scientists on behalf of the Everglades National Park concluded that “…the snakes pose little

threat to humans and it's rare that the pythons will attack people without first being provoked,

scientists say.” (Livescience). While it is true that python attacks rarely occur unprovoked, this

study only looked at the safety concerning visitors to the Everglades National Park, and did show

five documented incidents of unprovoked attacks. The same study conceded that “Available

evidence from captive snakes suggests that even those strikes that result from cases of mistaken

identity or defensive behavior may still result in constriction, which can prove fatal to people

when a large python or a small human is involved” (Science Daily). In the case of two-year-old

Shaiunna Hare, this is exactly what happened.

Invasive pythons threaten not only Florida’s native species, mainly in the Everglades, put

additional stress on already decreasing numbers of endangered species, but also pose a potential

threat to human beings. Wild, exotic animals act in unpredictable ways and evidence has

established the occurrence of numerous provoked and unprovoked python attacks. The most

tragic of these incidents resulted in the loss of the life of a two-year-old child .