Pythons could become a promising source of meat for the global food industry. This conclusion was reached by Australian scientists from Macquarie University and colleagues in other countries. The study was published in the scientific journal magazine Scientific Reports (SciRep).
The team examined two python species – the reticulated python and the dusky tiger python – raised on farms in Thailand and Vietnam.
The results were considered promising: The snakes grew rapidly even in the absence of food and produced sufficient meat compared to the amount of food consumed.
According to scientists, the productivity ratio of meat produced for pythons relative to food consumed was 1.2. For comparison, for farmed salmon this figure is 1.5, for poultry – 2.8, for pork – 6 and for beef – 10. Thus, it turned out that breeding pythons for meat is almost 10 times more profitable than cows.
“The ability of hungry pythons to regulate metabolic processes and maintain body condition increases food security in unstable environments, suggesting that python farming may offer a flexible and effective response to global food shortages,” the study said.
At the same time, breeding pythons for livestock purposes can be difficult due to their feeding habits and special housing conditions. In addition, the taste of snake meat and the idea of eating it can whet the appetite of many consumers.
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