A Florida man is offering free pizza for every dead snake people turn in as a way to support the fight against invasive species in the Florida Everglades.
Here's what to know
In an EcoBits (@EcoBits) YouTube video, host Justin Pack says the pizza giveaway is a creative companion to the Florida Python Challenge, a yearly event that invites the public to help remove pythons.
Rather than treating python removal as work only specialists can do, the free-pizza offer gives the public a memorable entry point into the issue. Dustin Crum of Wilman's Pizza Pasta & Pythons offers a free large pizza for customers who bring in a recently killed snake.
He doesn't stop there, either. Crum turns the python into soap, oils, and leather goods for sale.
More background
Crum took inspiration from the annual Florida Python Challenge, which offers a $10,000 reward for the hunter who takes down the most pythons.
As Pack explains, the python problem goes back many years. One theory is that a large hurricane in 1992 let a number of pythons escape from a breeding facility and establish a major foothold in the Everglades.
TCD Picks » Quince Spotlight
💡These best-sellers from Quince deliver affordable, sustainable luxury for all
As good as the theory sounds, Pack says the math doesn't quite work. It's more likely that it played a role, but the story began earlier with escaped pets. At the same time, the Everglades is a great place for invasive species to take root, as it's difficult to control a population once it is there.
Pythons are especially bad because they are "generalist predators," according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
Their establishment is decimating local populations of animals like opossums, rabbits, bobcats, grey foxes, and deer. That upsets the ecological balance, which isn't helped by the fact that snakes reproduce quickly and prodigiously.
The overall saga reflects the dangers of the exotic pet trade and what happens when a dangerous invasive species ends up in a vulnerable area.
What's being done?
By attaching a concrete reward to python removal, Crum is trying to make the cleanup effort feel more immediate and communal.
The pizza incentive works alongside the annual Florida Python Challenge, which is meant to get people personally involved in removing invasive pythons. Together, the two efforts combine organized coordination with grassroots outreach.
While those won't solve the python problem entirely, Pack says wildlife managers are in a defensive posture. They are trying to eliminate as many as possible while keying in on vulnerable areas.
Other efforts include professional contractors to hunt year-round, traps, radio-tagged pythons, dog detection, and more. While the problem is huge, these moves can make a difference.
"Removing a large female can have an outsized impact," Pack explains in the video. "During one targeted hunt, researchers removed 53 females carrying 2,500 developing eggs."
Get TCD's free newsletters for easy tips, smart advice, and a chance to earn $5,000 toward home upgrades. To see more stories like this one, change your Google preferences here.
