WASHINGTON — The United States wants to ban the import of Burmese pythons and eight other large constrictor snakes, as the Obama administration believes such large snakes endanger America's fragile ecosystem.
“The Burmese python and these other alien snakes are destroying some of our nation's most treasured—and most fragile—ecosystems,” said US Interior Secretary Ken Salazar on Wednesday.
Salazar said the US Fish and Wildlife Service will publish the proposed rule in the Federal Register in early February. At that time, it will also make a draft economic analysis and draft environmental analysis available to the public. The public will have 60 days to comment on the proposal.
“The Interior Department and states such as Florida are taking swift and common sense action to control and eliminate the populations of these snakes, but it is an uphill battle in ecosystems where they have no natural predators. If we are going to succeed, we must shut down the importation of the snakes and end the interstate commerce and transportation of them,” Salazar said.
The nine species proposed to be included in the ban are: the Burmese python, northern African python, southern African python, reticulated python, green anaconda, yellow anaconda, Beni or Bolivian anaconda, DeSchauensee's anaconda, and boa constrictor. Over the past 30 years, about a million of these nine species have been imported into the United States and current domestic production of some species likely exceeds import levels.
Sen. Benjamin Cardin, the chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Water and Wildlife Subcommittee, praised Salazar for trying to protect hreaten sensitive ecosystems by listing the species as “injurious wildlife” under the Lacey Act.
“Invasive species like these pose serious threats to native species across the country and can have a severe impact on America's natural ecosystems, as well as our agriculture, economy and human health,” he said.
Under the Lacey Act, the Secretary of the Interior is authorized to regulate the importation and interstate transport of species determined to be injurious to humans, the interests of agriculture, horticulture or forestry, and the welfare and survival of wildlife resources.
According to the US Geological Survey, Burmese pythons and other large constrictor snakes are highly adaptable to new environments and are opportunistic in expanding their geographic range. More than 1,200 of the snakes have been removed from Everglades National Park since 2000, with others having been removed from the Florida Keys, along Florida's west coast, and farther north along the Florida peninsula. Burmese pythons threaten many imperiled species and other wildlife. Two Burmese pythons were found near Crocodile Lake National Wildlife Refuge and the remains of three endangered Key Largo wood rats were found in their stomachs, it said.
“The Burmese python and these other alien snakes are destroying some of our nation's most treasured—and most fragile—ecosystems,” said US Interior Secretary Ken Salazar on Wednesday.
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| US Riverside County Department of Animal Services employees display an 11-foot Burmese python in August, 2009, that was captured by animal control officers in Lake Elsinore, Calif. (Photo: AP) |
“The Interior Department and states such as Florida are taking swift and common sense action to control and eliminate the populations of these snakes, but it is an uphill battle in ecosystems where they have no natural predators. If we are going to succeed, we must shut down the importation of the snakes and end the interstate commerce and transportation of them,” Salazar said.
The nine species proposed to be included in the ban are: the Burmese python, northern African python, southern African python, reticulated python, green anaconda, yellow anaconda, Beni or Bolivian anaconda, DeSchauensee's anaconda, and boa constrictor. Over the past 30 years, about a million of these nine species have been imported into the United States and current domestic production of some species likely exceeds import levels.
Sen. Benjamin Cardin, the chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Water and Wildlife Subcommittee, praised Salazar for trying to protect hreaten sensitive ecosystems by listing the species as “injurious wildlife” under the Lacey Act.
“Invasive species like these pose serious threats to native species across the country and can have a severe impact on America's natural ecosystems, as well as our agriculture, economy and human health,” he said.
Under the Lacey Act, the Secretary of the Interior is authorized to regulate the importation and interstate transport of species determined to be injurious to humans, the interests of agriculture, horticulture or forestry, and the welfare and survival of wildlife resources.
According to the US Geological Survey, Burmese pythons and other large constrictor snakes are highly adaptable to new environments and are opportunistic in expanding their geographic range. More than 1,200 of the snakes have been removed from Everglades National Park since 2000, with others having been removed from the Florida Keys, along Florida's west coast, and farther north along the Florida peninsula. Burmese pythons threaten many imperiled species and other wildlife. Two Burmese pythons were found near Crocodile Lake National Wildlife Refuge and the remains of three endangered Key Largo wood rats were found in their stomachs, it said.
