Free Pizza for Pythons? Bizarre trade-in that has everyone talking!

Wildman’s Pizza, Pasta & Python, a local restaurant with a museum-like atmosphere, has launched a quirky promotion to coincide with the 2026 Florida Python Challenge. The establishment, owned by professional snake hunter Dusty Crum, is offering a $24 fresh pizza to anyone who walks through the door with a legally captured python in hand.
The promotion, which kicked off on July 10, is designed to support the 10-day state-wide event aimed at controlling the invasive reptile population that has wreaked havoc on the local ecosystem.

While the restaurant showcases jewellery and artefacts made from snake skin and bones, Crum is careful to follow food safety regulations. He does not hold a license to sell python meat commercially; however, for those who are particularly adventurous, he will prepare the reptile meat and provide it as a free pizza topping upon request.
The initiative serves as a localised, high-protein incentive for the broader Florida Python Challenge. Since the late 1970s, when Burmese pythons were first introduced to Florida, the snakes have proliferated to the point of becoming a major environmental threat. With no natural predators, they have decimated populations of native deer, foxes, raccoons, and birds.
To combat the surge, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) organises the annual challenge in Everglades National Park. The stakes are high for hunters, with a $10,000 top prize awarded to the individual who removes the largest number of pythons during the event.
Official culling efforts have been consistent and rigorous; since 2000, more than 23,500 Burmese pythons have been removed from the region. The FWC requires that all snakes be dispatched using humane, scientifically approved methods.
For those participating in the challenge, a hot, fresh pizza might be the perfect reward after a long day of patrolling the Everglades.