The illegal operation was uncovered after an escaped python sparked an investigation that led police to a flat packed with hundreds of snakes hidden inside stacked plastic containers.

Researchers captured 177 invasive Burmese pythons and removed more than 4,100 eggs during a single breeding season in Southwest Florida.

In Florida, the Burmese python has established itself as “a slithering menace that is wiping out species”, Galante says.

Expert at the Conservancy of Southwest Florida topped their own record for the most tonnage of Burmese python removed from the wildlife.

Biologists in South Florida ended the latest Everglades breeding season with a record-setting round of Burmese python removals. Using tagged "scout snakes" to locate breeding females, the team removed ...