Sustainable management of the trade in reticulated python skins in Indonesia and Malaysia

Each year, approximately 300,000 reticulated pythons (Python reticulatus) are harvested from the wild in Indonesia and Malaysia to supply skins for the international trade in exotic leathers. Concerns have been raised about the sustainability of such a high level of off-take, along with issues related to illegal trade and humane treatment of snakes. The Python Conservation Partnership, members of the IUCN SSC Boa and Python Specialist Group, and scientists from Indonesia and Malaysia, undertook an intensive program of research to provide recommendations for managing and regulating harvest and trade in wild reticulated pythons.