A new study by an international team of experts examined the feasibility of breeding pythons on a commercial scale and what environmental impact such a practice would have compared to livestock farming.
The results are promising. The snakes grew rapidly, even during the fasting period, and the ratio of the amount of meat obtained to the amount of food eaten was extremely good. They feed on chickens and rodents, but can also feed on waste from the meat industry.
Also, breeding snakes has another advantage.
“Their ability to regulate metabolic processes during the fasting period to maintain the condition of the organism would serve as a very important factor in areas where a stable supply or optimal meteorological conditions are not always guaranteed,” says herpetologist Daniel Natuš. from Australia’s Macquarie University.
His team studied two species of pythons, ‘malayopython reticulatus’ and ‘python bivittatus’, while they were raised for a year on farms in Thailand and Vietnam, and then used for food.
The ratio of food eaten and meat obtained in pythons is 1.2, while in salmon it is 1.5, in poultry 2.8, pigs six and cattle ten.
“Our study confirmed that it is biologically and economically possible to raise pythons for commercial meat use,” say the researchers.
Although snake meat won’t make it to the butchers overnight, the results of the study showed that pythons could one day become a sustainable and economical food source.
