MARTIN COUNTY, Fla. — Governor Ron DeSantis was in Martin County on Tuesday to announce recent achievements in Burmese python removal efforts from the Florida Everglades.
"When I became governor, we launched a major initiative to further advance the goal of Everglades restoration," DeSantis said. "Everything that we promised, that we would do in terms of funding, in particular, we've not only fulfilled those promises, but we far exceeded the promises."
WATCH: Gov. DeSantis discusses ongoing efforts to eradicate Burmese python from Florida Everglades
DeSantis said that he has allocated almost $8 billion towards Everglades restoration and water quality improvement so far during his administration.
"Obviously, it's important to do all this for the well-being of Floridians, for our culture, our access to water, but it's also important for the wildlife, because we have amazing wildlife historically in the Everglades," DeSantis said. "It's one of the most biologically diverse ecosystems anywhere in the United States."
The governor noted that not only does water quality pose a threat to the native animals, but invasive species like the Burmese python.
"They were introduced through the exotic pet trade, and they were released into the wild once they got too big for their owners to keep them in the house," DeSantis said. "How stupid do you have to be to have released these things out of your house and into the wild?"
Starting May 1 of this year, DeSantis and the FWC entered a partnership with Miami-based INVERSA Leathers, a company that works towards biodiversity preservation through the ethical removal of invasive species, to expedite the removal of the pythons.
According to the governor, in the first three months of the partnership with INVERSA, the number of python removals has tripled from 343 removals between May and July 2024 to 1,022 removals in May and July 2025.
"In July alone, the program removed more pythons than the entire 12 months pre-transition," DeSantis said. "That's incredible that they're doing it."
INVERSA Leathers sources only from officially verified, non-harmful, and non-native species. All the products are traceable from where the animal was removed to the final material. INVERSA hires hunters and community members to eradicate invasive species like the python.
"By converting invasives into fashion for consumers from Paris to New York, we have tripled the removals, all while reducing FWC workload burden by about 89%," INVERSA Co-founder and CEO Aarav Chavda said. "Alll this is happening while paying our hunters about 60% better. This means more pipelines out of Florida, this means more jobs and income for Floridians, and most importantly, this means that native biodiversity in the Everglades has a chance to rebalance naturally."
WATCH: INVERSA CEO talks about how his company assists the FWC
DeSantis said he allocated $2 million in this year's budget for this program.
"I think the results speak for themselves, and these have been dramatic results, and they've been very effective results," DeSantis said. "And so I am requesting, let's keep this momentum going."
Roger Young, executive director for the FWC, expressed gratitude to the governor for his support and emphasized the success of the public-private partnership.
"Sometimes, when faced with the same old problems year in and year out, you have to take risks and consider new tools to combat the issues," Young said. "And that's exactly what they've done."
Chavda said that the company is starting to use artificial intelligence methods to better find pythons through aerial systems. Yesterday, INVERSA finalized its predictive AI behavioral model that will improve captures up to 50 times more.
"As we like to say, it's a good day for the Everglades— It's a bad day to be a python," Chavda said.
