By Livia Caputo, Florida Phoenix
Florida officials have tripled the number of invasive Burmese pythons removed in a year since partnering with a leather company that turns invasive species into fashion, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Tuesday.
Related: Protecting Florida’s rainbow snake through waterway conservation.
DeSantis was joined by Inversa Leathers CEO Aarav Chavda at a Stuart press conference on Tuesday morning. At the conference, Chavda revealed that 748 pythons were removed from the Everglades in July 2025, compared to 235 removals in July 2024, since Inversa began partnering with Florida authorities.
Based in Miami, the company’s website boasts stylish items like wallets, shoes, belts, dresses, and more made from Burmese Pythons in Florida, Lionfish off of Florida’s coasts, and the Silverfin carp in the Mississippi River Basin — all invasive species that harm American ecosystems.
“As of today, we can celebrate the fact that they delivered on their objective, one and a half years ahead of schedule. That’s right. In the first three months since transitioning to the program with Inversa … [Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission] and Inversa have tripled the number of python removals,” DeSantis announced.
“We had 1,022 removals across May and July of this year compared to 343 removals during the same period last year. FWC management workload is down 89%, giving staff biologists valuable time,” he continued. “
In the month of July alone, the program removed more pythons than the entire 12 months pre-transition. That’s incredible.”
Florida has rushed to address the growing problem of Burmese pythons in the Everglades since Hurricane Andrew in 1992 destroyed a breeding facility, releasing snakes into the wild, and exacerbated by exotic pet owners importing the Southeast Asian snakes to keep as pets, then releasing them into the nearby swamp when the snakes inevitably grew too large to keep. Burmese pythons can grow to 20 feet and weigh more than 250 pounds, with females larger than males, USGS reported.
The invasive snakes — which have no natural predator in South Florida — pose a heightened danger to the natural species in the Everglades, particularly to the three dozen threatened or endangered land and sea creatures residing in the massive national park.
As a result, Florida began an annual python challenge in 2013: to capture as many Burmese Pythons within 10 days as possible for a prize. DeSantis, in 2019, worked with FWC and the Department of Environmental Protection to remove pythons across all Florida state parks.
“We’re putting a bounty on the head of every one of these pythons,” DeSantis said.
