Assessment of python breeding farms supplying the international high-end leather industry

This report is the first one delivered under the Python Conservation Partnership. Established in November 2013, the Partnership aims to contribute to the improved sustainability of the python skin trade and to help facilitate industry-wide change. The present report provides information on how pythons are farmed in Asia, farming’s impact on local livelihoods and the relative contribution of captive python skins to the total trade. In addition, recommendations are offered on the prospects of using both a ranching approach to supply python skins for trade and a closed-cycle captive breeding approach to meet current and future demands for python skins.