Florida Python Challenge Registration Opens

SOUTH FLORIDA — Registration is open for the annual Florida Python Challenge, which invites professional and amateur Burmese python hunters to capture and humanely kill as many of the invasive species as they can over a 10-day period.

This year’s contest runs from July 9 at 8 a.m. through July 18 at 5 p.m. Competitors can win up to $2,500 in various categories.

“The goal of the Florida Python Challenge is to increase awareness about invasive species and the threats they pose to Florida’s ecology and to get more people involved in Everglades conservation through invasive species removal,” according to the event website.

Registered participants may remove Burmese pythons from the following participating areas during this timeframe:

• Big Cypress Wildlife Management Area
• Everglades and Francis S. Taylor Wildlife Management Area
• Frog Pond Public Small Game Hunting Area
• Holey Land Wildlife Management Area
• Rocky Glades Public Small Game Hunting Area
• Rotenberger Wildlife Management Area
• Southern Glades Wildlife and Environmental Area

Anyone 18 and older can register as either a professional or novice for $25.

Burmese pythons are an invasive species that has a negative impact on the Everglades ecosystem and the local, native wildlife, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission website.

No permit or hunting license is required to humanely kill these snakes on private lands with landowner permission, the FWC said. They can also be humanely killed year-round from various public properties. The complete list of public areas can be found here.