Opinion: Florida’s Great Snake Hunt Is a Cheap Stunt
The case against the state’s wildly popular python hunt.
The kickoff event for Python Challenge 2013, Florida's monthlong snake-killing tournament, was catered. "We've got snakehead fish tacos," chef David Pantone tells me, pinching his fingers into the okay sign chefs use to signal perfection.
"It's an amazing, smooth white fish. It's my new favorite fish in the world," Pantone says of the invasive species native to China. Pantone, who is dean of Lincoln Culinary Institute of West Palm Beach, Florida, stands behind a foldout table set up beside the Python Challenge 2013 registration desk. He wears a white chef's hat and coat, as do his assistants working a makeshift kitchen behind him.
"We've got caiman, which is like a big alligator. We turned it into a white bean chili. We
