{"id":341085,"date":"2026-07-15T16:53:10","date_gmt":"2026-07-15T16:53:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/341085\/"},"modified":"2026-07-15T16:53:10","modified_gmt":"2026-07-15T16:53:10","slug":"florida-hunters-can-trade-invasive-pythons-for-free-snake-topped-pizza-during-annual-challenge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/341085\/","title":{"rendered":"Florida hunters can trade invasive pythons for free snake-topped pizza during annual challenge"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hunters entering Florida’s yearly Python Challenge are once again helping the state thin out invasive snakes in the Everglades. This time, participants also have a shot at an offbeat perk from a local restaurant, as NBC6 reports<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Anyone who shows up with a captured Burmese python could end up trading it for a complimentary pizza made with snake meat.<\/p>\n

What’s happening?<\/p>\n

Once again, the Florida Python Challenge is inviting the public to compete for prizes while removing invasive Burmese pythons from the state. NBC6 reveals a local restaurant is sweetening the event with a meal-related bonus.<\/p>\n

Wildman’s Pizza, Pasta and Python owner Dustin Crum said successful hunters can swap the pythons they catch for a free pie at the station.<\/p>\n

“I’m the first place in the world to accept python as currency,” Crum told NBC6. “So you can trade in a python for a pizza.”<\/p>\n

Burmese pythons, a species from Southeast Asia, are now entrenched in the Everglades and nearby areas of Florida. The annual challenge started in 2013 as a way to reduce their numbers, but no one knows the exact population size, with estimates ranging from 30,000 to 300,000.<\/p>\n

Last year, roughly 1,000 hunters removed 294 snakes during the challenge. As for how the species spread in Florida. One theory points to animals that escaped when Hurricane Andrew destroyed a farm in 1992, while another centers on released pets.<\/p>\n

Why does it matter?<\/p>\n

Invasive species can throw ecosystems badly out of balance, and the Burmese python has become one of Florida’s best-known examples.<\/p>\n

When a nonnative predator becomes established in a place like the Everglades, it can put serious pressure on native wildlife and disrupt the natural systems that nearby communities rely on.<\/p>\n

Pythons can crowd out<\/a> native lizards, pose a threat to humans and their pets, and consume threatened or endangered species, as the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission describes<\/a>.<\/p>\n

What’s being done?<\/p>\n

Florida’s primary strategy is organized removal<\/a>. The Python Challenge gives participants a structured chance to hunt invasive snakes.<\/p>\n

Crum’s business also reflects an effort to make use of the animals once they are removed, NBC6 reported. Eating invasive species is a popular effort around the globe.<\/p>\n

\u00a0In addition to the pizza offer, NBC6 notes he runs a store stocked with items made from python skin, bones, and oil taken from the fat. He doesn’t discriminate when it comes to invaders.<\/p>\n

“We do python toppings, python pizza, iguana, you know, whatever,” Crum revealed to the station<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Get TCD’s free newsletters<\/a> for easy tips, smart advice, and a chance to earn $5,000 toward home upgrades. To see more stories like this one, change your Google preferences here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Hunters entering Florida’s yearly Python Challenge are once again helping the state thin out invasive snakes in the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":341086,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[12509,140134,28,30,29,116511,4615,127412],"class_list":["post-341085","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-florida","tag-burmese-python","tag-dustin-crum","tag-florida","tag-florida-headlines","tag-florida-news","tag-florida-python-challenge","tag-invasive-species","tag-nbc6"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/341085","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=341085"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/341085\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/341086"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=341085"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=341085"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=341085"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}