Word: floridas
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 2000-2009
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...squeezed the girl, but it was too late.) Suddenly Floridians, and the rest of the country, are paying more sober attention to the warnings of wildlife officials and environmentalists that proliferating pythons are a threat to critical ecosystems like the Everglades as well as to people. On July 8, Florida Senator Bill Nelson turned up the heat when he told a Senate subcommittee weighing his bill to ban the importation of Burmese pythons, "The crown jewel of our national park system has been transformed into a hunting ground for these predators. It's just a matter of time before...
...threat to humans, however, is still slight compared with the eco-damage the invasive serpents can wreak. Officials, for example, fear pythons may be on the brink of wiping out what remains of the endangered Key Largo wood rat and that other South Florida animals like the Key Deer could be next. The Everglades are estimated to contain as many as 150,000 pythons now, preying on rare bird and mammal wildlife. "If we don't get on top of this, they're going to eradicate the indigenous species of the Everglades," Rodney Barreto, Florida's Fish and Wildlife Conservation...
...states, like New York, already ban large constrictor snakes. A House bill, introduced by Florida Representatives Ron Klein and Alcee Hastings, would not ban but more closely regulate python importation. Even that legislation has met resistance from business lobbies like the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council (PIJAC), which insists the problem can be contained, via regulatory programs like Florida's, without clamping down on imports. "Bans often just drive the commerce underground, which can instead worsen the situation," says PIJAC CEO Marshall Meyers. Python sales, which include the smaller and more popular ball python, are still robust...
...easy, however, for disillusioned owners to get rid of them. Because there aren't many python-rescue agencies available, the snakes get dumped in the wild - a practice that's gotten out of control in Florida since 2000. It's a big reason the state laid down regulations last year that make it more difficult and expensive to own reptiles like these in the first place. The reptiles now require $100 annual permits and, if they're wider than 2 in. (5 cm), a microchip embedded in their skin to help owners and the state keep track of their whereabouts...
...unfunded state pension liabilities average $2,633 per person. Massachusetts' tab is even larger, at $3,372 per capita, although that's nothing compared to New Jersey's $9,833. By comparison, California seems in something of a sweet spot, at $1,325. Still, that's hefty compared to Florida...