Restaurant Offers Free Pizza in Exchange for Dead Burmese Pythons

• A Florida restaurant owner launched a deal trading free large pizzas for captured Burmese pythons brought in by locals
• The offer was inspired by Florida's annual Python Challenge, which targets the invasive species destroying Everglades wildlife
• The internet was stunned by the swap, with commenters cracking jokes and debating whether the idea was genius or a recipe for disaster

A Florida pizza shop owner has found the most unexpected way to tackle one of the state's biggest environmental problems. Dustin Crum, who runs Wildman's Pizza, Pasta, and Python, is offering customers a free large speciality pizza in exchange for a captured Burmese python, dead or alive. Crum, who calls himself a ‘swampepreneur,’ says his establishment is the first in the world to officially accept a live snake as payment for a meal.

The trade is rooted in a genuine crisis. Burmese pythons are an invasive species wreaking havoc on native wildlife across the Florida Everglades. Florida holds an annual Python Challenge, a state competition offering a $10,000 grand prize to whoever catches the most of the massive constrictors. But for everyday locals who stumble across the snakes, the situation is far less clear-cut. As Crum explained to the media:

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"They catch them. They don't know what to do with them. They're hungry. They want pizza."

Nothing goes to waste

Crum processes every snake brought into his restaurant on-site. The skins are tanned and turned into handbags, the bones become jewellery, and the fat is used to produce skin creams, soaps, and snake oils. The meat heads straight into the kitchen, where Crum serves free python pepperoni slices to curious diners. He describes the flavour as distinctly ‘gamey.’ The restaurant also serves iguana-topped pizzas for adventurous eaters.

Check out the TikTok post below:

People stunned by the transaction

The internet had plenty to say about the unusual arrangement shared by @brutamerica page:

Euforia23 wrote:

"Cost of pizza is about 8-12 bucks. Make 10x and more on products. Smart."

Tristian commented:

"It makes me really sad because I love snakes, but this is actually a good thing because they are very invasive in Florida. These are not native snakes; they are released pets that are taking over the Everglades."

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Emily Cummings said:

"This is so Florida and is also the first thing I really love out of Florida."

One user joked:

"Now they're just gonna breed more pythons to sell to him."

Boobmaestro wrote:

"Infinite pepperoni hack."

Haroldh simply asked:

"But how's the pizza? Is it good?"

3 Other Briefly News stories about snakes

• A snake expert explained that snakes can live in your home for years without you knowing they're there Read more: https://briefly.co.za/people/family-relationships/235110-live-snake-expert-warns-snakes-homes-ifunanya-nwangenes-fatal-bite/
• A man was filmed on camera holding a live snake just outside a fast-food restaurant in Randburg, Johannesburg, and the clip has split South Africa right down the middle Read more: https://briefly.co.za/people/241581-s-a-nonvenomous-snake-tiktok-video-man-holding-live-snake-restaurant-divides-sa/
• An American's relocation to Zimbabwe went viral after she discovered two of Africa’s most formidable reptiles taking up residence inside her new home Read more: https://briefly.co.za/people/243896-american-zimbabwe-moves-house-black-mamba-python/

Source: Briefly News