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Here are the minutes from our Sept meeting of the Central FL Herp meeting pertaining to CFHS President Shawn Heflick's first hand accounts of Burms in the Everglades. I have permission from the secretary to reprint them in order to educate people. I hope it is OK to post them here to get the word out. The work that Shawn Heflick has been doing is quite interesting.
Our President, Shawn Heflick, announced that the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) is planning an "amnesty day" event in Central Florida & wants to hear from Reptile of Concern (ROC) permit holders as to what species of ROC & how many they are willing to take from this event: Indian or Burmese Python (Python molaras), Reticulated Python (Python retivulatus), African Rock Python (Python sebae), Amethystine or Scrub Python (Molaria amethystinus), Green Anaconda (Eunectes mainus) and Nile Monitor Lizards (Varanus niloticus) are the ROC's in FL. Shawn will let me know when the Amnesty Day is scheduled & I will follow up with you with an email update.
Group discussion about the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) led by Shawn...this non-profit organization is generating funds to fight people that keep reptiles & amphibians (& other animals people keep, as well). HSUS is loosely affilitated with the Defenders of Wildlife, Animals Liberation Front, etc...other groups that would like to end reptiles & amphibians in the pet trade.
The Secretary of State maintains a database of charitable organizations that solicit funds & has records of how their money is spent...it is recommended that you check this out before supporting them with your dollars. Many spend the lions share of funds on fundraising & administration & very little on actual programs.
There are no guidelines as to how the money can be spent...as long as it is legal.
Program: Update on Burmese Python eradication program with FWC in the FL
Everglades:
2 sides to the controversy: One side says that the Burmese Python invasion in the FL Everglades is due to pet releases...Another side says it was due to 1992's Hurricane Andrew.
Wanting to get everyone on the same page...we look to the facts, not the sensational hype the media is promoting to sell stories:
Burmese Pythons (BP's) have been studied in the Everglades and there is no genetic variability between those found there...suggesting that they came from 1 founder stock. There are no albinos, no greens, no granites, or other color / pattern morphs / genetic mutations. Burmese Pythons from the pet trade in Florida come from 4 countries...the BP invasion in the Everglades could not be pet released without any genetic variability. Albinos could not survive in the Everglades in any case.
The epicenter of the BP outbreak is around the mouth of the Everglades National Park (ENP) at an area called Frog Pond which is South of Florida City and in spitting distance from Homestead...where Hurricane Andrew tore through at his mightiest in 1992.
If you look at the data / facts about BP's in the Everglades from a Biologist's viewpoint...it is obvious that this is not a problem due to pet releases, but due to damage from Hurricane Andrew.
There is a study by USGS & the South Florida Water Management District that shows that BP's may spread from Florida all the way to Maryland & to California as they expand their range. They used information about Ceylonese Pythons as a basis for the study...which occur at higher elevations & different geographic ranges than the Burmese Python. The promoters of this study didn't think that the reptile industry would mount a campaign to protect themselves. But it is also their colleagues & other scientists that are questioning this pet disposal of Burmese Pythons in the Everglades & potential range expansion promotion.
How they came to 100,000 number of BP's in Everglades at present time...they used an agricultural area in Everglades that is infested with rodents & BP's right outside Homestead & Florida City (BP outbreak
epicenter) that has a large land mass with no development & is insulated / surrounded by ENP and large private landholdings and then extrapolated the data from this area to the greater area of all the Everglades. They took terrestrial location to extrapolate...when in actuality the greater everglades has only approx. 3 % terrestrial habitat. Horrific science came up with the 100,000 BP estimate. Shawn thinks no more than 10,000 BP's at present.
Shawn says they are out there breeding...he has recently seen hatchlings that were fresh with the umbilical evidence visible.
He Michael Cole & Greg Graziani were only allowed to hunt on State lands. They only are finding empty guts of BP's or rats in stomach contents. BP's will eat road kill...did BP's really kill bobcats, etc?
Or are they cleaning ditches of road kill?
BP & Alligator wrestle to death photo that was taken in Everglades & publicized so heavily some years ago...Shawn says that the alligator that "burst" from the snake's stomach had it's skull crushed...he believes by an airboat & thinks the snake ate the gator after the gator was dead...the snake's neck & head were never found...Shawn believes that another gator came & ate the snakes head & that is the action that the photographer saw...& that this gator swam away underwater & the other gator was released from the snake's belly during the tussle.
For every instance of a BP photo of an alligator being eaten in the Everglades...there are dozens of pictures of alligators eating BP's.
There may not be any natural predators of BP's (from SE Asia) in Florida, but there are plenty of Florida predators of BP's...including:
herons, storks, snapping & big soft-shell turtles, ospreys, owls, raccoons, fire ants, etc...
Political agenda of FL Senator Bill Nelson & possible Senator...Governor Charlie Crist...is fear mongering hype.
Shawn spoke with Nelson's chief of staff...who didn't know the facts (scary)...but he did listen to Shawn, Mike & Greg.
Shawn thinks we should be willing to give up the importation of ROC's...to show that we are giving up something to meet them in the middle...especially since the tragic death of the 2 year old Central FL girl with the BP accused for the suffocation. More on that...apparently it was the mother's snake...they lied to police originally. They had it in a bag with a blanket tied over the enclosure lid...no ROC license & the snake had been loose before the tragedy...and it was not well fed.
Wild populations of BP have nothing to do with captive animals like the one involved with this tragedy. Wild BP's will freeze when approached (sensing the vibrations of the large animal approaching), they flick their tongues & may take a defensive stance against the giant human leering above them they believe to be a predator...or they may flee quickly as they do not want to be eaten.
Shawn was out with BBC when he caught a yearling BP on Aerojet Rd. He put the car in park told the interviewer what the snake would do (see last paragraph)...the yearling gave Shawn a glancing blow to his knee which he hid from the camera...the BBC rep. questioned Shawn about his knee & he moved his other hand over the knee...he wanted to get the message to the BBC that BP's are not a public safety issue in FL wildlands...nor is their one in the BP's home ranges.
You can always get a BP to bite you & hold on if you scent yourself with rabbits (not recommended...he cited a BP enthusiast that held a dead rabbit under his chin & opened the BP enclosure to feed the animal...apparently the caregiver died as he went for the rabbit too quickly).
BP incidents with humans are ALWAYS the keepers fault! BP's are not a public safety issue.
Could be an OSHA issue, however.
BP Bullet Points:
Not a Public Safety Issue.
Not going to go away overnight, if ever (BP issue).
Not 100,000 BP's in FL Everglades.
Not pet release problem (hurricane evidence is incontrovertible).
We have an obligation to show up & fight the fight. FWC is on our side...if there are full bans, FWC has no job.
Example: Shawn & Greg Graziani keep crocodilians & the FWC sent them new regulations about keeping them (with no experience keepers writing the regulations). Shawn & Greg rewrote regulations from the expericed viewpoints they acquired & won over FWC...they instituted their recommendations without question.
That would never have happened 15 years ago.
Now that reptile keepers have formed a good relationship with the FWC, we need to do the same with the politicians & media.
Gov. Charlie Crist wants to ban all reptile keeping in FL...as he is looking for a Senate seat.
We need to call politicians & make a better relationship & remind them that we vote.
Now eradicating BP's only on State lands...working with the National Park System to work on eradication in ENP. National Park system should be getting pressure. Senator Nelson & potential Senator Crist may work on funding the BP eradication issue.
Told chief of staff that the Senator has thousands of voting constituents that keep reptiles in FL.
Our hobby / job with reptiles that we are passionate about is under threat!
Daycare Center hoax in New Port Richey...guy put BP nearby for media hype...under investigation by FWC.
BP eradication hunts...collect data with GPS locations to support or negate GSPS population information (100,000 suspected pop. BP's in Everglades).
Shawn can take up to 5 visitors on BP eradication hunt on State lands...he also sees Crayfish snakes & saw the prettiest baby Cottonmouth he had ever seen. It's an all night adventure...he got home at 6:30 after the last one. Contact him if you are interested in joining a future hunt.
In KY...no exotic pets are allowed now.
Hitting heavy in OH, AR, Maryland & FL...$ with lobbiests in Washington D.C. Come out of woodwork when people are emotional like the 2 year old's death.
If licensed with FWC you are in public limelight...due to public records...FL Sunshine Law.
American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) euthanizing snakes...says to use blunt object & bludgeon before severing spine. Shawn prefers more humane method of pithing brain & severing spine from head with pocket knife (nothing the media can get sensational pictures about).
Shawn warns us to tread lightly with the media. They can ruin your life...even if what they say is misconstrued...they can target you.
End of Program.
Our President, Shawn Heflick, announced that the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) is planning an "amnesty day" event in Central Florida & wants to hear from Reptile of Concern (ROC) permit holders as to what species of ROC & how many they are willing to take from this event: Indian or Burmese Python (Python molaras), Reticulated Python (Python retivulatus), African Rock Python (Python sebae), Amethystine or Scrub Python (Molaria amethystinus), Green Anaconda (Eunectes mainus) and Nile Monitor Lizards (Varanus niloticus) are the ROC's in FL. Shawn will let me know when the Amnesty Day is scheduled & I will follow up with you with an email update.
Group discussion about the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) led by Shawn...this non-profit organization is generating funds to fight people that keep reptiles & amphibians (& other animals people keep, as well). HSUS is loosely affilitated with the Defenders of Wildlife, Animals Liberation Front, etc...other groups that would like to end reptiles & amphibians in the pet trade.
The Secretary of State maintains a database of charitable organizations that solicit funds & has records of how their money is spent...it is recommended that you check this out before supporting them with your dollars. Many spend the lions share of funds on fundraising & administration & very little on actual programs.
There are no guidelines as to how the money can be spent...as long as it is legal.
Program: Update on Burmese Python eradication program with FWC in the FL
Everglades:
2 sides to the controversy: One side says that the Burmese Python invasion in the FL Everglades is due to pet releases...Another side says it was due to 1992's Hurricane Andrew.
Wanting to get everyone on the same page...we look to the facts, not the sensational hype the media is promoting to sell stories:
Burmese Pythons (BP's) have been studied in the Everglades and there is no genetic variability between those found there...suggesting that they came from 1 founder stock. There are no albinos, no greens, no granites, or other color / pattern morphs / genetic mutations. Burmese Pythons from the pet trade in Florida come from 4 countries...the BP invasion in the Everglades could not be pet released without any genetic variability. Albinos could not survive in the Everglades in any case.
The epicenter of the BP outbreak is around the mouth of the Everglades National Park (ENP) at an area called Frog Pond which is South of Florida City and in spitting distance from Homestead...where Hurricane Andrew tore through at his mightiest in 1992.
If you look at the data / facts about BP's in the Everglades from a Biologist's viewpoint...it is obvious that this is not a problem due to pet releases, but due to damage from Hurricane Andrew.
There is a study by USGS & the South Florida Water Management District that shows that BP's may spread from Florida all the way to Maryland & to California as they expand their range. They used information about Ceylonese Pythons as a basis for the study...which occur at higher elevations & different geographic ranges than the Burmese Python. The promoters of this study didn't think that the reptile industry would mount a campaign to protect themselves. But it is also their colleagues & other scientists that are questioning this pet disposal of Burmese Pythons in the Everglades & potential range expansion promotion.
How they came to 100,000 number of BP's in Everglades at present time...they used an agricultural area in Everglades that is infested with rodents & BP's right outside Homestead & Florida City (BP outbreak
epicenter) that has a large land mass with no development & is insulated / surrounded by ENP and large private landholdings and then extrapolated the data from this area to the greater area of all the Everglades. They took terrestrial location to extrapolate...when in actuality the greater everglades has only approx. 3 % terrestrial habitat. Horrific science came up with the 100,000 BP estimate. Shawn thinks no more than 10,000 BP's at present.
Shawn says they are out there breeding...he has recently seen hatchlings that were fresh with the umbilical evidence visible.
He Michael Cole & Greg Graziani were only allowed to hunt on State lands. They only are finding empty guts of BP's or rats in stomach contents. BP's will eat road kill...did BP's really kill bobcats, etc?
Or are they cleaning ditches of road kill?
BP & Alligator wrestle to death photo that was taken in Everglades & publicized so heavily some years ago...Shawn says that the alligator that "burst" from the snake's stomach had it's skull crushed...he believes by an airboat & thinks the snake ate the gator after the gator was dead...the snake's neck & head were never found...Shawn believes that another gator came & ate the snakes head & that is the action that the photographer saw...& that this gator swam away underwater & the other gator was released from the snake's belly during the tussle.
For every instance of a BP photo of an alligator being eaten in the Everglades...there are dozens of pictures of alligators eating BP's.
There may not be any natural predators of BP's (from SE Asia) in Florida, but there are plenty of Florida predators of BP's...including:
herons, storks, snapping & big soft-shell turtles, ospreys, owls, raccoons, fire ants, etc...
Political agenda of FL Senator Bill Nelson & possible Senator...Governor Charlie Crist...is fear mongering hype.
Shawn spoke with Nelson's chief of staff...who didn't know the facts (scary)...but he did listen to Shawn, Mike & Greg.
Shawn thinks we should be willing to give up the importation of ROC's...to show that we are giving up something to meet them in the middle...especially since the tragic death of the 2 year old Central FL girl with the BP accused for the suffocation. More on that...apparently it was the mother's snake...they lied to police originally. They had it in a bag with a blanket tied over the enclosure lid...no ROC license & the snake had been loose before the tragedy...and it was not well fed.
Wild populations of BP have nothing to do with captive animals like the one involved with this tragedy. Wild BP's will freeze when approached (sensing the vibrations of the large animal approaching), they flick their tongues & may take a defensive stance against the giant human leering above them they believe to be a predator...or they may flee quickly as they do not want to be eaten.
Shawn was out with BBC when he caught a yearling BP on Aerojet Rd. He put the car in park told the interviewer what the snake would do (see last paragraph)...the yearling gave Shawn a glancing blow to his knee which he hid from the camera...the BBC rep. questioned Shawn about his knee & he moved his other hand over the knee...he wanted to get the message to the BBC that BP's are not a public safety issue in FL wildlands...nor is their one in the BP's home ranges.
You can always get a BP to bite you & hold on if you scent yourself with rabbits (not recommended...he cited a BP enthusiast that held a dead rabbit under his chin & opened the BP enclosure to feed the animal...apparently the caregiver died as he went for the rabbit too quickly).
BP incidents with humans are ALWAYS the keepers fault! BP's are not a public safety issue.
Could be an OSHA issue, however.
BP Bullet Points:
Not a Public Safety Issue.
Not going to go away overnight, if ever (BP issue).
Not 100,000 BP's in FL Everglades.
Not pet release problem (hurricane evidence is incontrovertible).
We have an obligation to show up & fight the fight. FWC is on our side...if there are full bans, FWC has no job.
Example: Shawn & Greg Graziani keep crocodilians & the FWC sent them new regulations about keeping them (with no experience keepers writing the regulations). Shawn & Greg rewrote regulations from the expericed viewpoints they acquired & won over FWC...they instituted their recommendations without question.
That would never have happened 15 years ago.
Now that reptile keepers have formed a good relationship with the FWC, we need to do the same with the politicians & media.
Gov. Charlie Crist wants to ban all reptile keeping in FL...as he is looking for a Senate seat.
We need to call politicians & make a better relationship & remind them that we vote.
Now eradicating BP's only on State lands...working with the National Park System to work on eradication in ENP. National Park system should be getting pressure. Senator Nelson & potential Senator Crist may work on funding the BP eradication issue.
Told chief of staff that the Senator has thousands of voting constituents that keep reptiles in FL.
Our hobby / job with reptiles that we are passionate about is under threat!
Daycare Center hoax in New Port Richey...guy put BP nearby for media hype...under investigation by FWC.
BP eradication hunts...collect data with GPS locations to support or negate GSPS population information (100,000 suspected pop. BP's in Everglades).
Shawn can take up to 5 visitors on BP eradication hunt on State lands...he also sees Crayfish snakes & saw the prettiest baby Cottonmouth he had ever seen. It's an all night adventure...he got home at 6:30 after the last one. Contact him if you are interested in joining a future hunt.
In KY...no exotic pets are allowed now.
Hitting heavy in OH, AR, Maryland & FL...$ with lobbiests in Washington D.C. Come out of woodwork when people are emotional like the 2 year old's death.
If licensed with FWC you are in public limelight...due to public records...FL Sunshine Law.
American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) euthanizing snakes...says to use blunt object & bludgeon before severing spine. Shawn prefers more humane method of pithing brain & severing spine from head with pocket knife (nothing the media can get sensational pictures about).
Shawn warns us to tread lightly with the media. They can ruin your life...even if what they say is misconstrued...they can target you.
End of Program.
