invasive species in florida

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Invasive Species in Florida
Should exotic snakes or other large reptiles be allowed as pets in Florida? Right now these escaped/released feral reptiles create an estimated $120 billion in environmental damage each year according to David Steen on Slates Animal Blog.
Exotic snakes such as the python, boa constrictors and anaconda as well as the Monitor and Tegu lizard are taking over central and southern Florida and pose an extreme threat to the eco- system and to the families that are residing there.
The invasive reptiles are eating almost everything in sight like raccoons, opossums, bobcats, alligators and many federally protected animals like the Key Largo wood rat and Wood stork. There have been cases of children and pets being eaten or even squeezed to death by the large snakes in their own yards.
This is not the first time or even the first animal to have become a problem. Other problem animals such as the feral hogs, Norwegian rats and the German cockroach’s’ are examples of what happens when a problem goes untreated or under treated. In 2011, the Department of the Interi...

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