I agree it's important to present out view from a scientific point. It's also important to have credible people from this area support it. I expect there to be a good amount of information turned in on our behalf in this area. Those who oppose us have already been successfully using this strategy . There will be plenty of "expert" impute to counter our views .

Ultimately this is an argument that comes down to pure speculation. It's a basic case of yes they can / no they can't. If this is how the final determination is made it will come down to how who's ever holding the pen see's one side as opposed to the other. It's going to be very subjective.

On the topic of the pythons ability to expand it's current range from the everglades across the US. Again its not really a point that can be anything more then speculated on. And how much relevance does it really have ?

What we do know is that Burmese pythons already live in virtually every state and have for decades. To date only one feral population is known. This population by most indications was established many years ago under ideal conditions. Everywhere else across the country after decades of private ownership the only place pythons are or have ever been breeding is in a cage. There has not been a single documented case of even one specimen surviving any length of time on it's own let alone a population establishing anywhere outside of South Florida. Combine this with the fact that there are no incidents of these animals ether feral or escaped associated physically harming a member of the general public . Again this involves a large number of privately owned animals over a long time frame. These numbers show an excellent record that overall indicates they present a very low risk to both the public and the environment. To me this a critical element to this debate as it's the only one based in fact and not possibility.

Ernie Eison
westwoodreptiles.com

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