Python Politics Continues

An interesting business-side look at the effects of the python ban from the WSJ.

The cold snap in FL has killed off a number of pythons, apparently.

Crocs in the News

Bangladesh's only crocodile farm will be sending its first export to Germany next month. (News source.)

A UK aquarium is training its dwarf caiman to respond to commands. (News source.)

A UK man wants to start his own crocodile park. (News source.)

Fear and Loathing in LA

Bigots in Oakdale, Lousiana, are spreading rumors about a high-end python breeder who lives in the area. They tell the police that cats and dogs are missing, so it must be the python guy... Apparently, these villagers are dumb enough to think that someone with thousand-dollar boids is going to feed parasite-ridden free-roaming pets instead of quality captive-bred lab rodents. What's worse, the Allen Parish Sheriff's Office and Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries officials don't bother pointing out the obvious flaw in such reasoning, but just imply they can't do anything about it. (News source.)

Frog Farming Controversy

Intensive frog farming may not be feasible, but is it worth it? The debate continues. Details here.

Crocodilian Farming and the Economy

A Saigon venture is training craftspeople to work with crocodile skin. (News source.)

A Bangladesh man has started up a crocodile farm there. (News source.)

The Florida gator skin market is drying up as luxury buyers are holding off. (News here, and here.)

Frog Farm Failure

A Chinese farmer trying to raise American frogs (I assume bullfrogs) lost 270,000 of them, and blames noise from a nearby construction site. (News source.)

Gator Farm Blues

Bad economic news for gator farmers. (I'm surprised there isn't an enterprising group taking advantage of this to bring a former "luxury" item to a cheaper market.)

Crocodilians

Hermes is farming crocs in Australia to meet demand for their crocodile-skin products. (News source.)

Two young Indian men fought of a crocodile that attacked their father. (News source.)

A profile here on a Florida gator trapper.

Don't do this with your kids (or your crocs).

European Snake Farm

A German firm is building a snake breeding farm for venom extraction for the drug and beauty isndustries. (News source.)

Snake Farming

A Vietnamese invalid, a former soldier, is raising water snakes for the food trade quite profitably. (News source.)

Lizard News

Vietnamese farmers are starting "dong" (butterfly lizard) farms, primarily for the food industry. (News source.)

Conservation groups are pressing the Secretary of the Interior to list the flat-tailed horned lizard as an endangered species. (News source.)

Crocodile News

Papua New Guinea youths trapped a large female crocodile alleged to have eaten 7 people. (News source, image here.)

The croc skin trade in Nigeria is booming, which may hurt the local croc populations. (News source.)

Crocodile News

A New Zealand just got a nice pair of saltwater crocodiles for exhibition. (News source.)

Crocodile farming in Vietnam may be bouncing back after years of falling prices. (News source.)

Georgia Croc Farm

A crocodile farm (for meat and skin) is being set up in the country of Georgia. (News source.)

Israel: Antivenom Production

An Israeli drug production company, Kamada, is developing a snake antiserum production facility. No species in particular is mentioned. (News source.)

Snake Deterrent

A new invention here is meant to keep reptiles out of public restrooms.

Alligator B&B

The Texas Alligator Ranch (Spearman, TX) is adding a bed and breakfast. (News source.)

Frog Hunting to Protect Crop

South Carolina crayfish farmers have to hunt frogs to keep the predators from ruining the crop. (News source.)

Gator Business

A profile here on a Florida alligator processing plant.

Snake Hunter

An orphan in Zimbabwe became entrepreneurial, catching snakes and smuggling them over the border into Mozambique where he could find ready buyers. (News source.)