Every year the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission's (FWC) Python Action Team follows up, tracks and removes invasive Burmese Pythons from across counties in South Florida. Now the FWC along with the South Florida Water Management District is studying the mercury levels in Burmese pythons to determine in part whether the snake's meat is fit for human consumption. According to FWC Spokesperson Jamie Clift Rager, any non-native species, including Burmese pythons, can be harvested on private land throughout the year with landowner permission and by legal methods for the local area. To date, more than 12,000 pythons have been found dead or killed in Florida and reported to the FWC.