Contractor Removal Program
Image courtesy of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
The FWC Python Action Team- Removing Invasive Constrictors (PATRIC) and South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) Python Elimination Program (PEP) pay qualified individuals for capturing and removing nonnative constrictors from the wild. These contractors are currently the most successful method for removing pythons from the wild. As of September 2023, over 19,000 pythons have been removed in the state of Florida. Of that total, over 12,000 pythons have been removed by FWC PATRIC and SFWMD PEP contractors since program inception in spring 2017.
This bar graph shows the number of pythons removed each calendar year in Florida, and the number of pythons removed each year by contractors since the contractor removal program began in 2017 (bar overlay in green). Contractors from the FWC PATRIC and the SFWMD PEP teams have removed more than 60% of the over 21,000 Burmese pythons removed from the wild in Florida.
