Florida Teams Up With Leather Company To Turn Invasive Pythons Into Belts, Boots & Bags
Florida's Burmese python problem is out of control. But now, killing snakes might just become the most fashionable form of conservation.
Burmese pythons may be invasive in Florida — but they're also very stylish.
Gov. Ron DeSantis announced the state has teamed up with a Miami-based luxury leather company, called Inversa, to tackle its python problem and turn the snakes into high-end belts, boots, wallets and more.
"It made perfect sense to me," DeSantis said. "If we can harness the economic incentives to remove the pythons, I knew it would help. I didn’t know it would be this dramatic."
Dramatic is right. In July 2025 alone, 748 pythons were removed. That's more than the entire total for the previous year. In just three months this summer, the program resulted in 1,022 snakes being removed, nearly tripling the 2024 numbers.
Inversa co-founder and CEO Aarav Chavda said the company pays hunters about 60% more than the state previously did and uses AI-powered tools to locate pythons from the air.
Which, apparently, are far more efficient than robot bunnies.
The hides are then turned into leather, available in pink, yellow, green or white. You can even choose a matte or glossy finish.
"We have been able to convert invasives into fashions for consumers from Paris to New York," Chavda said. "The only way Florida will win this war is by consistently removing more pythons every year."
Pythons, which are not native to Florida, have been wreaking havoc in the state's ecosystem for decades. These things eat everything from birds to rabbits and even deer.
"It’s unbelievable what they’re able to do," DeSantis said. "A single python can threaten the survival of many endangered species."
That’s why Florida created the annual Python Challenge — a statewide hunt letting residents and visitors compete for prize money while legally removing the snakes from the wild.
In August, OutKick Outdoors caught up with this year's winner, Taylor Stanberry, who walked us through how she managed to capture 60 snakes over 10 days.
Watch the full interview here:
You can make a lot of wallets with 60 snakes.
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