US wants ban on big snakes

Federal officials want to keep Burmese pythons and eight other kinds of large snakes out of the United States, saying they threaten the environment.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar says the snakes escape or are released into the wild, where they threaten sensitive ecosystems such as Florida's Everglades.

The nine species covered by the proposed ban include the boa constrictor, the green anaconda and the yellow anaconda.

The snakes are popular as pets but destructive when released into the wild.