Amy Siewe
Special to Naples Daily News
July 15, 2026Updated July 16, 2026, 2:44 p.m. ET
Florida python hunter Amy Siewe tells why she skips annual challenge
- A professional python hunter explains why she does not participate in Florida’s Python Challenge.
- The event attracts inexperienced people who may harm native snakes or get bitten.
- The author believes the large number of participants disrupts python behavior, making them harder to find.
- Concerns over cheating for prize money and inhumane euthanasia also undermine the event’s purpose.
I’m a professional python hunter and guide. I have removed over 800 invasive Burmese pythons, the biggest one being 17 feet, 8 inches. This is my career, my love, my best life. It would seem like the Python Challenge was made for someone like me.
But I don’t participate and here’s why.
My main issue is the number of inexperienced people who come to South Florida hoping to catch a python without truly understanding what they are about to encounter.
Not every python is a 15-foot monster. Burmese pythons hatch out at around two feet long, making it easy for an inexperienced person to confuse a baby python with one of Florida’s many native snakes. The problem is that people kill our native snakes or get bitten by a venomous snake thinking it’s a python. (It’s already happened this year).
If you don’t know exactly what you’re looking at, you shouldn’t be grabbing it − and you certainly shouldn’t be killing it.
Catching a large python is not as easy as we make it look.
After hundreds of captures, I know how to read a python’s movements, anticipate its reactions and control it safely. Pythons of all sizes are strong, fast and capable of delivering a serious bite with a mouth full of razor-sharp teeth. For anyone who is inexperienced, unsure or lacks confidence, hesitation can quickly turn a difficult situation into a dangerous one. More: Florida python hunter describes python bite: ‘Like a mouthful of hypodermic needles’
I also believe the sheer number of people participating changes normal python behavior. These snakes are already incredibly difficult to find. When hundreds of people suddenly flood the same areas with vehicles, lights and constant activity, the pythons don’t follow the behavioral patterns that professional hunters depend on throughout the rest of the year.
More people does not automatically mean more pythons caught.
Cheating undermines the credibility of the Florida Python Challenge
Then there’s the competition itself. With a $10k prize on the table, there will be cheating. People catch pythons before the Challenge begins, hold onto them and turn them in as if they were caught during the competition. That undermines the credibility and purpose of the entire event. Not to mention it’s illegal to transport a live python.
More: Why Florida hunters should never cut off the head of a python
That brings me to humane euthanasia. Catching a python is only half the responsibility. Knowing how to properly and humanely euthanize one is just as important. Yes, participants can be disqualified for improper euthanasia − but by the time that happens, the python has already suffered. You can’t undo it with a disqualification.
I understand why the python challenge was started… to bring awareness to the situation. It has turned into a circus and is counterproductive. I respect the participants who take the time to educate themselves, follow the rules and genuinely want to help. I have taken many of them on guided hunts because they want to learn how to spot/capture/euthanize properly.
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For me, python removal isn’t a competition. It’s my passion, my purpose and the life I’ve chosen. I’ve spent years learning through trial and error where, when and how to find these snakes − knowledge that only comes from thousands of hours in the field. And every year, during ten of the best hunting days of the season, I have to step away and wait for the crowds to clear while inexperienced hunters disrupt the areas and behavioral patterns that professionals rely on every day.
The Everglades doesn’t need more people chasing a trophy. It needs educated, experienced and responsible people removing pythons safely and humanely.
That’s why I don’t participate in the Python Challenge.