In this video we will discuss why eating the Burmese Python either as a specialty cuisine
or as a method to stop the spread of the Burmese python
in Florida, without specific guidelines in Florida is bad idea. We have previously talked
about the Burmese python as an invasive species in South Florida. These snakes,
originally from Southeast Asia, were brought into the United States due to their value as pets
and were subsequently released into the Floridan wild in the aftermath of hurricane Andrew in 1992
when a breeding facility was destroyed causing several snakes to slither away into nearby swamps.
These snakes can reach 16 ft when fully grown and can be burdensome to maintain by their owners.
Hence, pet owners reportedly released this snake into the wild according to several authorities.
The Burmese python has done and continues to do extensive damage to the ecosystem by decimating a
variety of mammals and birds including threatened and endangered species such as Key largo woodrat
and wood stork. It also poses a significant threat to humans. So how do we deal with this problem?
Several have suggested the human consumption of the python as a means of controlling the
population of the invasive species. While I understand the sentiment, I am here to say,
“Don’t Eat The Python”. This is because the Burmese python
caught in the Everglades has been shown to have a high concentration of methylmercury
which is an organic form of the toxic metal, mercury. Methylmercury is a neurotoxin,
that is a chemical that attacks brain and spinal cord cells. Babies in the womb and infants whose
nervous systems are still developing are vulnerable to methylmercury toxicity.
High levels of prenatal exposure to methylmercury can cause blindness, mental retardation,
and a form of cerebral palsy while chronic low-level exposure can cause decreased
birthweight and delayed onset of walking (link in the description). Humans acquire methylmercury
when they continuously eat foods with high mercury content such as some fish and possibly pythons.
Mothers can then pass this mercury to a baby in the womb through the placental cord,
and to an infant through breastfeeding. For this reason, women who are pregnant,
breastfeeding or are considering becoming pregnant are advised to avoid fish with high
mercury content such as sharks, marlin, bigeye tuna, swordfish and a few others completely.
Methylmercury is extremely worrisome as it is easily transferred from one aquatic trophic level
to another. Every time it is transferred from a lower to a higher trophic level it biomagnifies.
This means that it becomes more concentrated in tissue such that by the time it has reached the
top of the food chain it can be present at very high concentrations. Hence, animals at the top
of the food chain such as sharks, marlin, bigeye tuna that is fish that eat other fish tend to have
lots of mercury in them. The Burmese python is definitely the apex predator in the Everglades
and has been shown to have high quantities of mercury. Hence, the most vulnerable demographic,
which are pregnant women, mums who are breastfeeding and children under the age of 11,
are advised to avoid consumption of fish with high mercury content and the Burmese python.
Now what about males over the age of 11 and women over childbearing age who are not part
of the critical demo? While this demographic is less sensitive to mercury, they are not immune to
mercury toxicity. Hence, the state government should conduct studies to determine the size
and quantity of python meat, if any, that is safe to consume. Until clear guidelines are
provided by the state of Florida or relevant authorities, please do not eat the python.