To the editor,

The least that the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) should do for the Burmese pythons it insists on killing in the Everglades is ensure that the snakes are killed in the most humane manner possible. But despite PETA’s requests, the FWC refuses to require snake hunters to use an American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA)-approved method of euthanasia.

As the AVMA’s guidelines state, “conditions found in the field, although more challenging than those that are controlled, do not in any way reduce or minimize the ethical obligation of the responsible individual to reduce pain and distress to the greatest extent possible during the taking of an animal’s life.”

These pythons didn’t ask to be taken from their native homes in Southeast Asia, kept as “pets,” and turned loose when their guardians tired of them. We owe it to these animals who have ended up in Florida through no fault of their own to deal with them in the most humane way possible. To learn more, visit www.PETA.org.

Jodi Minion

Wildlife Biologist, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA)

Norfolk, Va.