13-foot Burmese Python found in South Florida pool (video)

More on this Story

Story | Bid to curb nationwide snake sales stalls, swallowed by White House bureaucracy
On the Web | More McClatchy stories from around the nation

Jared Goyette | Miami Herald

MIAMI — A South Florida family got a big surprise on Christmas Day, but it wasn’t delivered by a man in a big red suit.

Miami-Dade Fire Rescue’s Venom Unit was called in to capture a 13-foot Burmese Python that made its way into a backyard pool on Sunday, according to TV reports.

The incident occurred just as a proposal to ban the import and interstate sale of Burmese pythons and eight other large exotic snakes has stalled, swallowed up in White House bureaucracy for nearly a year, as reported by The Miami Herald this week.

Read the full story (and watch a video report) on Bradenton.com

tool goes here

JOIN THE DISCUSSION

We welcome comments. To post one, you must sign in using either your McClatchyDC login or your login for Facebook, Twitter or Disqus. Just click the appropriate box below.

Please keep your comment civil, short and to the point. Obscene, profane, abusive and off topic comments will be deleted. Repeat offenders will be blocked. If you find a comment abusive or inappropriate, please flag it for the moderator by placing your cursor on the comment, then clicking the "flag" link that appears. Thanks for your participation.