New efforts to combat Florida’s python problem

Gov. Ron DeSantis said the number of Burmese python removals has tripled following a public-private partnership. The governor held a press conference on Monday at the Hungryland Wildlife Management Area, where he explained the recent efforts to crack down on the invasive Burmese python. “They partnered with Inversa, a Miami-based company that helps ensure biodiversity preservation through the ethical removal of invasive species to get this done,” DeSantis said. Not only does the company help remove invasive species, but it also uses the skin to make leather. The company then uses the leather to make boots, belts, wallets, and more. Your neighborhood: Local coverage from WPBF 25 News”I will tell you some of the stuff is very fashionable, and I’m not somebody that really is very good at knowing what that would be, but these guys do. They sell these things, and when they become very popular, they sell them for a lot of money,” DeSantis said. DeSantis said, with the help of Inversa, the number of python removals has tripled. “In July of this year, we had 748 removals compared to 235 removals in July of 2024,” he said.He said FWC management workload is also down 89%, allowing staff to direct their resources to more areas of science. “In July alone, the program removed more pythons than the entire 12 months pre-transition. That’s incredible that they’re doing it,” DeSantis said. With ongoing efforts to restore Florida’s Everglades, DeSantis said the idea made perfect sense to him when he learned they could harness the economic incentives and help dwindle the number of Burmese Pythons in the Everglades. “I knew it would help. I didn’t know that the numbers would be this dramatic, I must confess. So, it’s been a pleasant surprise to see the progress, and I know we’re going to continue to do it,” he said. Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Executive Director Roger Young said this is just the beginning. Get the latest news updates with the WPBF 25 News app. You can download it here.”Thanks to our commissioners for supporting our agency’s efforts in educating the public about invasive species and helping to restore our habitats to our natural environment. That’s what it’s all about: restoring our natural environment and restoring the native wildlife that belongs on that landscape,” Young said. R.F. Chavda, co-founder and CEO of Inversa Leathers, joined the governor and Young to announce the new partnership.”We’ve been able to start solving this incredible Florida problem by converting invasives into fashion for consumers from Paris to New York, we have tripled the removals from the program, all while reducing FWC’s workload burden by about 89%,” Chavda said. Chavda said they have a lot of plans in the works to keep this initiative going. “This means more jobs and income for Floridians. Most importantly, this means that native biodiversity in the Everglades has a chance to rebalance naturally. While we’ve done a lot, we’re not stopping there; we want to improve removals by 10x,” he said. He explained that this week, Inversa had its first AI-enabled positive visual python detection from an aerial system. Chavda said they also finalized their predictive behavioral AI model that will improve python capture by up to 50 times. “The only way Florida is going to win this war against invasives is by consistently removing more pythons every single year, and that can be accomplished by technology-assisted removals that stretch the taxpayer dollar as efficiently as possible. The future looks bright here in Florida, and I’m excited for where we are now, and even more excited for where we’ll be in a year,” Chavda said. DeSantis highlighted why he feels the removal of the invasive species is crucial in their fight to restore the Everglades. “They were introduced through the exotic pet trade, and they were released into the wild once they got too big for their owners to keep them in the house. How stupid do you have to be to have released these things out of your house and into the wild?” he said. He explained how the invasive species threatens both native and endangered species. “This is an apex predator right here. It threatens the survival of many endangered species. A single female python can lay up to 100 eggs at a time, and they have no natural predators in the Florida Everglades. So their population has exploded. Native mammals ranging from raccoons and rabbits to foxes and even deer have seen their numbers dwindle. These things will take out a deer. I mean, it’s unbelievable what they’re able to do,” DeSantis said. DeSantis said he hopes this will be the next step to getting rid of the invasive species once and for all. “If you’re not really getting ahead, you have no chance to ever catch up to it. So this is kind of the next salvo. We started paying the bounties, which helped a lot to increase the numbers, but I think this is going to take it to the moon,” he said.The governor’s full press conference can be found here.

MARTIN COUNTY, Fla. —

Gov. Ron DeSantis said the number of Burmese python removals has tripled following a public-private partnership.

The governor held a press conference on Monday at the Hungryland Wildlife Management Area, where he explained the recent efforts to crack down on the invasive Burmese python.

“They [FWC] partnered with Inversa, a Miami-based company that helps ensure biodiversity preservation through the ethical removal of invasive species to get this done,” DeSantis said.

Not only does the company help remove invasive species, but it also uses the skin to make leather. The company then uses the leather to make boots, belts, wallets, and more.

Your neighborhood: Local coverage from WPBF 25 News

“I will tell you some of the stuff is very fashionable, and I’m not somebody that really is very good at knowing what that would be, but these guys do. They sell these things, and when they become very popular, they sell them for a lot of money,” DeSantis said.

DeSantis said, with the help of Inversa, the number of python removals has tripled.

“In July of this year, we had 748 removals compared to 235 removals in July of 2024,” he said.

He said FWC management workload is also down 89%, allowing staff to direct their resources to more areas of science.

“In July alone, the program removed more pythons than the entire 12 months pre-transition. That’s incredible that they’re doing it,” DeSantis said.

With ongoing efforts to restore Florida’s Everglades, DeSantis said the idea made perfect sense to him when he learned they could harness the economic incentives and help dwindle the number of Burmese Pythons in the Everglades.

“I knew it would help. I didn’t know that the numbers would be this dramatic, I must confess. So, it’s been a pleasant surprise to see the progress, and I know we’re going to continue to do it,” he said.

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Executive Director Roger Young said this is just the beginning.

Get the latest news updates with the WPBF 25 News app. You can download it here.

“Thanks to our commissioners for supporting our agency’s efforts in educating the public about invasive species and helping to restore our habitats to our natural environment. That’s what it’s all about: restoring our natural environment and restoring the native wildlife that belongs on that landscape,” Young said.

R.F. Chavda, co-founder and CEO of Inversa Leathers, joined the governor and Young to announce the new partnership.

“We’ve been able to start solving this incredible Florida problem by converting invasives into fashion for consumers from Paris to New York, we have tripled the removals from the program, all while reducing FWC’s workload burden by about 89%,” Chavda said.

Chavda said they have a lot of plans in the works to keep this initiative going.

“This means more jobs and income for Floridians. Most importantly, this means that native biodiversity in the Everglades has a chance to rebalance naturally. While we’ve done a lot, we’re not stopping there; we want to improve removals by 10x,” he said.

He explained that this week, Inversa had its first AI-enabled positive visual python detection from an aerial system. Chavda said they also finalized their predictive behavioral AI model that will improve python capture by up to 50 times.

“The only way Florida is going to win this war against invasives is by consistently removing more pythons every single year, and that can be accomplished by technology-assisted removals that stretch the taxpayer dollar as efficiently as possible. The future looks bright here in Florida, and I’m excited for where we are now, and even more excited for where we’ll be in a year,” Chavda said.

DeSantis highlighted why he feels the removal of the invasive species is crucial in their fight to restore the Everglades.

“They were introduced through the exotic pet trade, and they were released into the wild once they got too big for their owners to keep them in the house. How stupid do you have to be to have released these things out of your house and into the wild?” he said.

He explained how the invasive species threatens both native and endangered species.

“This is an apex predator right here. It threatens the survival of many endangered species. A single female python can lay up to 100 eggs at a time, and they have no natural predators in the Florida Everglades. So their population has exploded. Native mammals ranging from raccoons and rabbits to foxes and even deer have seen their numbers dwindle. These things will take out a deer. I mean, it’s unbelievable what they’re able to do,” DeSantis said.

DeSantis said he hopes this will be the next step to getting rid of the invasive species once and for all.

“If you’re not really getting ahead, you have no chance to ever catch up to it. So this is kind of the next salvo. We started paying the bounties, which helped a lot to increase the numbers, but I think this is going to take it to the moon,” he said.

The governor’s full press conference can be found here.