re: #432 MandyManners

Python is endangered? If so, why isn’t the sale of it banned in every state?

From endangeredspecieshandbook.org:

Pythons are among the most popular snakes for shoes and handbags, and one subspecies of Indian Python (Python molurus molurus) is listed on CITES Appendix I, while other subspecies enter trade. This listing is totally ineffectual because of confusion with other subspecies of this snake. All pythons (Python spp.) are listed on Appendix II, but this has done little to slow the trade in their skins. The massive take of wild pythons in Asia for shoes, handbags, and even clothing has resulted in infestations of rats, which spread disease to humans and damage crops. Peter Brazaitis, a herpetologist and former curator of animals at the Central Park Wildlife Center in New York City, commented: “I think we have to ask ourselves, what is the value of a python? Is it as a pair of expensive pants? Or is it as a means to check exploding rat populations in nations where communicable diseases are rampant? (Chivera 2000).

Likewise, Argentine Boa Constrictors (Boa constrictor occidentalis) are listed on CITES Appendix I, and other subspecies on Appendix II. Once made into reptile products, races of Boa Constrictor resemble one another, making the CITES listing meaningless. The largest Boa Constrictors, which are the oldest, have been a prime target for skin hunters in South America, and the enormous snakes of this species, once commonly seen in tropical forests, have disappeared as a result of this trade. Many are also taken for the pet trade. Retail prices indicate the popularity of snakeskin for luxury leather goods. A python handbags sell for $300 or more, and a python belt costs $120.