# Hallandale Beach Alligator Processor Turns Pythons from the Everglades into Leather P



## moosenoose (Mar 17, 2010)

*Published On:* 3-16-2010
*Source:* The SunSentinel









> For some Burmese pythons captured in the Everglades, the end of the line is a building in a warehouse district of Hallandale Beach.
> 
> All American Gator, which turns alligators into meat, belts, shoes and wallets, is the closest thing South Florida has to a python-processing plant. It was here that Josh Zarmati brought two pythons he caught in the Everglades.
> 
> Brian Wood, the company's president, was waiting. He has processed three snakes so far and anticipates more from the state-sanctioned python hunt that started last week and runs through April 17 in sections of the Everglades in Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties.



No-one else to blame except the idiots who released these animals! No-one further to blame than the legislators who initially allowed them to be legally sold and purchased in the first place! Good to see they've thrown a ban on such animals and are pro-actively appear to be doing something about it!

The methods with the dispatching of these animals seems quite barbaric IMO! The article reads even worse!

*Go to Original Article*


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## JUNGLEJAGUAR (Mar 17, 2010)

POOR SNAKES :cry::cry: HOW CRUEL..:x


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## herptrader (Mar 17, 2010)

It sounds like they are just using the skin for leather and not harvesting the meat.... which seems a bit of a waste.

It also sounds like he needs a bit of practice in killing them.

but... I have got to get me a pair of:


> Kevlar-coated snake-handling boots


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## slim6y (Mar 17, 2010)

herptrader - they suggest no meat to be eaten because o fmercury content. I assume that's a bio-magnification thing.

Would a more appropriate method of killing be put in a freezer???

Well - who am I to say - but 30 minutes to live without your body isn't so good at all!


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## redbellybite (Mar 17, 2010)

moosenoose said:


> *Published On:* 3-16-2010
> *Source:* The SunSentinel
> 
> 
> ...


totally agree with you moose .....how easily it could happen here if the laws relaxed on exotics ....and yes am aware we do have them here still ..but would be 1000 x worse off ...can imagine someone thinking their retic or boa was getting a bit to big to handle ..just let that one go and buy a smaller one now  ..... We have seen so many of our own keepers tell stories how their snakes escaped etc ...


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## JUNGLEJAGUAR (Mar 17, 2010)

there s just no need for these beautiful creatures to be slaughtered..:cry::x


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## caustichumor (Mar 17, 2010)

Snake handling boots sounds like a misnomer, a little like a puppy cuddling sword....
I think a spike to the brain would be a more humane method of killing the pythons outright as well (but I guess a squirming severed head puts on a good show for the cameras!)


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## abbott75 (Mar 17, 2010)

JUNGLEJAGUAR said:


> there s just no need for these beautiful creatures to be slaughtered..:cry::x



Yes there is. They are a feral pest, and they come so neatly wrapped in leather! What more reason do you need?


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## JasonL (Mar 17, 2010)

abbott75 said:


> Yes there is. They are a feral pest, and they come so neatly wrapped in leather! What more reason do you need?



lol, expensive leather at that!


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## JUNGLEJAGUAR (Mar 17, 2010)

i understand what you are saying' but why carnt they put them in rescues instead of killing them): which dosn't look human 1 bit ...looking at that pic..:x


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## grannieannie (Mar 17, 2010)

That picture made my stomach turn.........


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## JasonL (Mar 17, 2010)

Put them in "rescues"??? They were originally dumped because they were unwanted pets, now breed in numbers killing alot of native fauna... It isn't easy finding a home for a snake that will exceed 25 feet and can eat a small adult human and kill a large one... esp when the place is riddled with them.... no one want them, they can't be released into the wild, so this is whats in stall for them... though they could turn the axe around and smash their brains inside out instead of lopping their heads clean off.


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## JasonL (Mar 17, 2010)

What they are doing isn't as bad as hitting a cane toad with a golf club though....


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## JUNGLEJAGUAR (Mar 17, 2010)

JasonL said:


> Put them in "rescues"??? They were originally dumped because they were unwanted pets, now breed in numbers killing alot of native fauna... It isn't easy finding a home for a snake that will exceed 25 feet and can eat a small adult human and kill a large one... esp when the place is riddled with them.... no one want them, they can't be released into the wild, so this is whats in stall for them... though they could turn the axe around and smash their brains inside out instead of lopping their heads clean off.


guess your right..':| just dont like see animals being killed thats all..?


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## kupper (Mar 17, 2010)

Putting it in those terms Jason they are like the cane toad equivilant , but leather and meat farming is not a bad idea it has just been carried out in the wrong way


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## -Matt- (Mar 17, 2010)

JasonL said:


> What they are doing isn't as bad as hitting a cane toad with a golf club though....


 
Exactly. Both are pests but at least the pythons die from the trauma...toads bounce right back from a 9 iron to the head!


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## JUNGLEJAGUAR (Mar 17, 2010)

Mattsnake said:


> Exactly. Both are pests but at least the pythons die from the trauma...toads bounce right back from a 9 iron to the head!


poor toads


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## abbott75 (Mar 17, 2010)

JUNGLEJAGUAR said:


> guess your right..':| just dont like see animals being killed thats all..?



What do your snakes eat? Potatoes?


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## schizmz (Mar 17, 2010)

"from the state-sanctioned python hunt that started last week"

Imagine the bleeding hearts and artists if we had .. "kill a cane toad week" here:shock:
..think about the social reaction to such a announcement.!?..some politician got in trouble recently for saying "why aren't people just hitting them with cricket bats and stuff..thats what we did as a kid".but.hes right. i remember my dad and his m8's playing toad golf in the 70's... but i reckon its a reasonable idea...for cane toads..not the odd python or 2 as the article mentions..hes not bringing back a couple of hundred pythons a day..,and if you are going to put it down..is an axe really the "best" way..or just the "easiest" way


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## Tayla152girl (Mar 17, 2010)

That is disgusting! feral animal or not, no animal deserves to be held down, then paraded around in front of everyone before having its head cut off. And to be made into such a big deal, photos being taken, people watching. poor snake was prob so stressed out. if i went out and found a massive python and thought hmm dont want this big fella having babies and eating wildlife, better chop his head off. i would be ripped to shreads, but still people make jokes and think this article is funny. Not trying to have a go at anyone, it just *******s me that people of higher power cant produce an acceptable plan for problem animals released into the wild , to be humanely dealt with not slaughtered by people who dont look like they know what they are doing and probably only seeking profit out of all this. ahh sorry but articles like this just make me so angry.


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## Sock Puppet (Mar 17, 2010)

JUNGLEJAGUAR said:


> poor toads


haha, being from England you may not be aware of the devastation caused by cane toads in Australia. A feral animal that is also poisonous to a large number of native predators. 
Sure the whole golf club thing might be contrued as cruel, but to be honest, I have little sympathy for them being killed by whatever means work.


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## Vincey (Mar 17, 2010)

Sock Puppet said:


> haha, being from England you may not be aware of the devastation caused by cane toads in Australia. A feral animal that is also poisonous to a large number of native predators.
> Sure the whole golf club thing might be contrued as cruel, but to be honest, I have little sympathy for them being killed by whatever means work.


 
Agreed.

As for this thread, I believe the process carried out in order to get the leather is gross and cruel, although the fact that they do it is not. Putting good use to a 'pest'.

I think if we could do the same with cane toads then a lot of you would be "Wow! Yay!" as long as it didnt involve the beheading of them whilst they are photographed and stressed.


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## grannieannie (Mar 17, 2010)

These "pests"....toads, snakes or whatever....can't help being what they are...they don't know they are "pests" or unwanted. If they must be culled....surely it should be done in a human way, no matter what the creature is.


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## Retic (Mar 17, 2010)

I hate seeing animals killed, I hate hearing people laughing about hitting cane toads with golf clubs and I hate hearing how we kill quite literally millions of kangaroos every year but I do not object to feral animals being killed quickly and humanely. I have killed 1000's of cane toads myself but take no pleasure in doing it. I think when they say the head 'lives' for 30 minutes they are using the term loosely, it's nerves obviously still seem to function but I doubt there is any life in the head.


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## redbellybite (Mar 17, 2010)

Nothing like a good game of 'toad ' in the hole ....I dont agree with cruelty ever ..and I dont wack them with golf clubs ...you can kill them easy enough without getting ya rocks off from it ...


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## Magpie (Mar 17, 2010)

I'm gonna release my 2 pairs in the forest up here, that way in 20 years I can start up my own leather processing plant!


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## lizardjasper (Mar 17, 2010)

I don't like the way they're killing them. It should be via carbon dioxide, imo. I hate cruelty! Look at the poor thing! It knows what's coming!


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## GeckoJosh (Mar 17, 2010)

Magpie said:


> I'm gonna release my 2 pairs in the forest up here, that way in 20 years I can start up my own leather processing plant!


Your 2 pairs of what?


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## JasonL (Mar 17, 2010)

Nice to see you back on Magpie, your avatar picture hints to me why you have been away for so long... been to thailand of late?
You don't need to release anything up there, just put a rodent shed in your backyard and you will have enough snakes to keep you buisy skinning all day.
Maybe they should release cane toads into the Everglades? that would surely fix the snake problem.


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## da_donkey (Mar 17, 2010)

Geckoman said:


> Your 2 pairs of what?


 

his burms


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## JUNGLEJAGUAR (Mar 18, 2010)

Tayla152girl said:


> That is disgusting! feral animal or not, no animal deserves to be held down, then paraded around in front of everyone before having its head cut off. And to be made into such a big deal, photos being taken, people watching. poor snake was prob so stressed out. if i went out and found a massive python and thought hmm dont want this big fella having babies and eating wildlife, better chop his head off. i would be ripped to shreads, but still people make jokes and think this article is funny. Not trying to have a go at anyone, it just *******s me that people of higher power cant produce an acceptable plan for problem animals released into the wild , to be humanely dealt with not slaughtered by people who dont look like they know what they are doing and probably only seeking profit out of all this. ahh sorry but articles like this just make me so angry.


 i agree with you 100%Tayla152girl


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## JUNGLEJAGUAR (Mar 18, 2010)

abbott75 said:


> What do your snakes eat? Potatoes?


 wish they did eat potatoes.. my lot are fed on frozen rats


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## Snake Catcher Victoria (Mar 18, 2010)

> I think when they say the head 'lives' for 30 minutes they are using the term loosely, it's nerves obviously still seem to function but I doubt there is any life in the head.


I have arrived on a callout where the snake had been beheaded just before i got there.

While the neves are still active in the body, the head is aware of whats going on around it
and capable of wacthing everything.

I watched the head of the snake as the body was moved away from it.

The eyes followed the movement and when the head was approached, it opened its mouth and
in a final gesture of defiance,managed a hiss at the would be attacker..

Everyday i have to try to explain this to different people.

It has been well documented that snakes, because of their anatomy,do not die immediatly from decapitation.

Jason got it right when he said the a$$ hole in the pic should use the other side of the axe and smash its head.

But i spose then they couldnt make a cute novelty keychain or belt buckle ect out of it if it was all smashed.


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## JUNGLEJAGUAR (Mar 18, 2010)

ssssnakeman said:


> I have arrived on a callout where the snake had been beheaded just before i got there.
> 
> While the neves are still active in the body, the head is aware of whats going on around it
> and capable of wacthing everything.
> ...


 gosh i really didnt know that :shock: make s me feel sick thinking about this :x poor snake s :cry::cry:


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## Snake_Whisperer (Mar 18, 2010)

herptrader said:


> but... I have got to get me a pair of:
> 
> 
> > Kevlar-coated snake-handling boots


 
Should look at importing those mate, I smell a winner!


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## Magpie (Mar 18, 2010)

JasonL said:


> Nice to see you back on Magpie, your avatar picture hints to me why you have been away for so long... been to thailand of late?
> You don't need to release anything up there, just put a rodent shed in your backyard and you will have enough snakes to keep you buisy skinning all day.



I look good eh?
Plenty of scrubbies in the yard at the moment, we have ducks and chooks now, usually 3 or 4 out there every night.
Even lost a duck mid-day just recently.


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## mungus (Mar 18, 2010)

They guy holding the head is keen !!!!
Swinging that small axe looks dangerous...............:lol:


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## JUNGLEJAGUAR (Mar 18, 2010)

they prob enjoy doing this to these poor helpless animals :x


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## JasonL (Mar 18, 2010)

Bugger, what a waste of a perfectly good duck....


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## moosenoose (Mar 18, 2010)

Interesting! It seems we're not the only ones to be up in arms about the initial article! 



> A man who helped kill a Burmese python in front of journalists at a Hallandale Beach processing plant broke the rules governing the hunting of the non-native snakes in the Everglades, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.



Florida snake: Snake catcher broke hunting rules in chopping python’s head off with hatchet - South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com


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## JasonL (Mar 18, 2010)

Hahaha, well that what you get for doing that on camera, what else would you expect these days. Donkeys!


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## da_donkey (Mar 18, 2010)

JasonL said:


> Hahaha, well that what you get for doing that on camera, what else would you expect these days. Donkeys!


 
hey!!!! whats wrong with donkeys????


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## JasonL (Mar 18, 2010)

LOL, I knew you would pop up with that post :lol:


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## herptrader (Mar 18, 2010)

JasonL said:


> What they are doing isn't as bad as hitting a cane toad with a golf club though....



Actually I would think it worse. One of the most efficient ways to kill a snake is to flatten its head with a brick... not a lot different to killing a toad with a golf club.


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## herptrader (Mar 18, 2010)

kupper said:


> Putting it in those terms Jason they are like the cane toad equivilant , but leather and meat farming is not a bad idea it has just been carried out in the wrong way



Cane toads could be harvested for their meat... mostly the legs, and there is a good market for them!


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## GeckoJosh (Mar 19, 2010)

da_donkey said:


> his burms


He has Burms?


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## cris (Mar 19, 2010)

I dont understand why they cut its head off when they could have just killed it instantly with blunt trauma as they did soon after cutting off its head :? im guessing since they are new to it they havnt put much thought into killing them.



herptrader said:


> Actually I would think it worse. One of the most efficient ways to kill a snake is to flatten its head with a brick... not a lot different to killing a toad with a golf club.



It would take an extremely precise hit to humanely kill a toad with a golfing hit, Tiger Woods would be able to do it humanely, they average redneck wouldnt. You can kill them humanely with a bit of coordination by bashing down on their heads, a golf club would be broken from doing this, a strong wooden or bamboo stick is ideal, but you stil have to hit the head without splattering poison into your eyes(this requires more skill and power than many would have). The best way to kill them is much similar to how you kill a rat with blunt trauma only you hold the legs instead of the tail and hit them twice as hard. The other humane option is shooting the base of the skull, but that isnt legal in many situations.

Also they are being exported for meat and poison(well they call it medicine in China)


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## Magpie (Mar 19, 2010)

Geckoman said:


> He has Burms?



Hell yeah, don't you?


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## hoppyone (Mar 19, 2010)

Cruel that's all it is!


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## JUNGLEJAGUAR (Mar 20, 2010)

Wood opened a flat plastic container and pulled out a 7-foot python he caught near a levee. He placed the snake on the cement floor as journalists' cameras clicked, allowing the snake to coil around his arm and bite his Kevlar-coated snake-handling boots.

Zarmati, 23, is a snake expert and dealer. He breeds ball pythons — a smaller breed not considered a threat — and sells them from his house in Miami.

After playing with the snake for the cameras, it was time to kill it. They brought it into another room with a slippery wet floor and a long table stacked with skinned alligators that resembled uncooked chickens in color and texture.

As Zarmati held the struggling snake down on a table, Wood raised a hatchet and cut off its head. The top four inches of the snake continued to wriggle, the mouth opening and closing. Asked how long the top half would take to die, Zarmati said, "It can take about 30 minutes."


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## JUNGLEJAGUAR (Mar 20, 2010)

JUNGLEJAGUAR said:


> Wood opened a flat plastic container and pulled out a 7-foot python he caught near a levee. He placed the snake on the cement floor as journalists' cameras clicked, allowing the snake to coil around his arm and bite his Kevlar-coated snake-handling boots.
> 
> Zarmati, 23, is a snake expert and dealer. He breeds ball pythons — a smaller breed not considered a threat — and sells them from his house in Miami.
> 
> ...


 
THIS GUY IS POOR:evil::evil:


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## GeckoJosh (Mar 20, 2010)

Magpie said:


> Hell yeah, don't you?


No because it's illegal for me to keep them


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## JUNGLEJAGUAR (Mar 20, 2010)

awwwww how sweet playing with the snake.. before sentencing it to its death :x:evil:


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## Magpie (Mar 20, 2010)

Geckoman said:


> No because it's illegal for me to keep them



Is it? We're allowed to keep them in Qld.


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## GeckoJosh (Mar 20, 2010)

Magpie said:


> Is it? We're allowed to keep them in Qld.


Burms as in Burmese pythons?
Don't treat me like an idiot.


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## abbott75 (Mar 20, 2010)

JUNGLEJAGUAR said:


> awwwww how sweet playing with the snake.. before sentencing it to its death :x:evil:



The exact same thing probably happens to the rats your snake eats. Stop acting so precious...


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## Snake Catcher Victoria (Mar 20, 2010)

abbott75 said:


> The exact same thing probably happens to the rats your snake eats. Stop acting so precious...


I never torture the rat for 1/2 an hour after playing with it.
If he killed them humanely there would not be an issue.


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## Magpie (Mar 20, 2010)

Geckoman said:


> Burms as in Burmese pythons?
> Don't treat me like an idiot.


 OK.


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## JUNGLEJAGUAR (Mar 21, 2010)

abbott75 said:


> The exact same thing probably happens to the rats your snake eats. Stop acting so precious...


 Well all my snakes eat dead so wouldnt really know..:|
i dont play with there food..


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## krusty (Mar 21, 2010)

o that poor thing.


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