A research study shows that pythons might be a sustainable and highly effective alternative to standard livestock, quickly converting feed to body mass and flourishing on very little resources, providing a prospective option to worldwide food insecurity.New research has revealed that pythons are an efficient, low-emission, and climate-resilient source of food, showing exceptional feed-to-protein conversion rates compared to chickens or cattle.New research published in Scientific Reports carried out in 2 South-East Asian business python farms led by Honorary Research Fellow Dr. Daniel Natusch from Macquarie Universitys School of Natural Sciences, found pythons convert feed into weight gain extremely efficiently compared to conventional livestock such as chickens and cattle.”In terms of food and protein conversion ratios, pythons outperform all mainstream farming species studied to date,” Dr. Natusch states.”We found pythons proliferated to reach massacre weight within their very first year after hatching.”Snake meat is very high and white in protein, Dr. Natusch says.The multi-institutional research study group included researchers from Australias Macquarie University and University of Adelaide, the UKs University of Oxford, South Africas University of the Witwatersrand, and the Vietnamese Academy of Science and Technology in Hanoi.The scientists compared reticulated pythons (Malayopython reticulatus) and Burmese pythons (Python bivittatus) farmed at industrial python farms in Thailand and Vietnam, testing the impacts of different food regimes.Lead author Dr. Dan Natusch deals with an Australian water python, one of 39 various python types. Credit: Derek HendersonFlexible option for food insecurity”Climate modification, disease, and diminishing natural resources are all increase pressure on conventional livestock and plant crops, with dire results on many people in low-income countries currently suffering acute protein shortage,” says Dr. Natusch.Failures in standard agrifood systems resulting in extensive food insecurity is driving interest in alternative food sources, he says. “Cold-blooded reptiles … are extremely more efficient at turning the food they consume into more flesh and body tissue than any warm-blooded creature ever could.”Snake meat is a sustainable, high protein, low-saturated fat food source already extensively consumed across Southeast Asia and China.This research study trialed different diets on groups of pythons, and found that pythons can achieve fast development rates. Envisioned: feeding trial in python farm Credit: Dan Natusch”However, while large-scale python farming is well established in Asia, it has gotten little attention from mainstream agricultural scientists,” says Dr. Natusch. “Snakes require minimal water and can even live off the dew that decides on their scales in the morning. They require extremely little food and will eat rodents and other insects assaulting food crops. And they were a special, traditionally, in lots of places. Our research study recommends python farming matching existing livestock systems might offer a versatile and efficient response to worldwide food insecurity.”Costs and benefitsCo-author Professor Rick Shine, from Macquarie Universitys School of Natural Sciences says this is the very first research study taking an extensive take a look at the inputs and outputs, costs and benefits of business snake farms.”There are clear economic and adaptability advantages to farmers who raise pythons instead of raising pigs,” Professor Shine says.Snake farms are usually large barns surrounded by sun traps for basking, which get away the majority of the complex animal well-being problems surrounding caged mammals and birds.”Birds and mammals waste about 90 percent of the energy from the food they eat, simply preserving a consistent body temperature level,” says Professor Shine. “But cold-blooded animals like reptiles simply discover an area in the sun to get warm. They are hugely more effective at turning the food they consume into more flesh and body tissue than any warm-blooded creature ever could.”Farmed Burmese pythons, envisioned above, in harmony co-exist in large groups. Credit: Dan NatuschHiding the broccoliThe research group trialed groups of pythons on different sausages of waste protein from meat and fish off-cuts, and discovered intensive feeding of juveniles prompted fast growth rates without any evident well-being impacts.Despite pythons being entirely carnivorous in the wild, they could absorb soy and other veggie protein, and some sausages included around 10 percent veggie protein, hidden amongst the meat.”Its a bit like concealing broccoli in the meatballs to get your kids to eat their veggies,” Dr. Natusch states. “We revealed that snake farms can successfully convert a lot of agricultural waste into protein, while producing relatively little waste of their own.”When processed, around 82 percent of a pythons live weight yields functional products, consisting of the high protein dressed carcass for meat, the valuable skin for leather, and the fat (snake oil) and gall bladder (snake bile) which both have medicinal uses.Kilo for kilo, reptiles produce far fewer greenhouse gases than mammals. Their durable gastrointestinal systems, which can even break down bone, produce nearly no water waste and far less strong waste than mammals.Pythons can fast for more than 4 months without losing much weight, and quickly resume growth as quickly as feed restarts, so consistent production can continue even when food is scarce,” states Dr. Natusch.”We likewise found some farms contract out child pythons to local villagers, typically retired people who make additional income by feeding them on regional rodents and scraps, then offering them back to the farm in a year.”Professor Shine says this study shows the remarkable performance of reptiles in turning waste into useable items, highlighting big chances in nations where there is currently a cultural precedent for snake meat.However, its not likely that Australia or Europe will adopt python farming, he states.”I think it will be a long period of time before you see Python hamburgers served up at your favorite regional restaurant here.”Reference: “Python farming as a flexible and effective kind of farming food security” by D. Natusch, P. W. Aust, C. Caraguel, P. L. Taggart, V. T. Ngo, G. J. Alexander, R. Shine and T. Coulson, 14 March 2024, Scientific Reports.DOI: 10.1038/ s41598-024-54874-4The research study was moneyed by the Python Conservation Partnership, the University of Witwatersrand Research Council, and the Carnegie Corporation of New York.
A research study reveals that pythons might be a extremely efficient and sustainable option to conventional animals, quickly transforming feed to body mass and prospering on very little resources, providing a prospective service to international food insecurity.New research has actually exposed that pythons are an efficient, low-emission, and climate-resilient source of food, demonstrating remarkable feed-to-protein conversion rates compared to chickens or cattle.New research released in Scientific Reports performed in two South-East Asian industrial python farms led by Honorary Research Fellow Dr. Daniel Natusch from Macquarie Universitys School of Natural Sciences, discovered pythons convert feed into weight gain remarkably efficiently compared to standard livestock such as chickens and livestock.”Snake meat is extremely high and white in protein, Dr. Natusch says.The multi-institutional research study team consisted of researchers from Australias Macquarie University and University of Adelaide, the UKs University of Oxford, South Africas University of the Witwatersrand, and the Vietnamese Academy of Science and Technology in Hanoi.The scientists compared reticulated pythons (Malayopython reticulatus) and Burmese pythons (Python bivittatus) farmed at business python farms in Thailand and Vietnam, evaluating the impacts of various food regimes.Lead author Dr. Dan Natusch handles an Australian water python, one of 39 various python species.”Snake meat is a sustainable, high protein, low-saturated fat food source currently commonly taken in throughout Southeast Asia and China.This research trialed different diets on groups of pythons, and found that pythons can accomplish fast growth rates. Credit: Dan NatuschHiding the broccoliThe research study group trialed groups of pythons on different sausages of waste protein from meat and fish off-cuts, and found intensive feeding of juveniles triggered fast development rates with no obvious well-being impacts.Despite pythons being solely carnivorous in the wild, they could absorb soy and other veggie protein, and some sausages included around ten percent veggie protein, hidden among the meat.”Reference: “Python farming as a effective and versatile type of agricultural food security” by D. Natusch, P. W. Aust, C. Caraguel, P. L. Taggart, V. T. Ngo, G. J. Alexander, R. Shine and T. Coulson, 14 March 2024, Scientific Reports.DOI: 10.1038/ s41598-024-54874-4The study was moneyed by the Python Conservation Partnership, the University of Witwatersrand Research Council, and the Carnegie Corporation of New York.
