Animal cruelty

Not everyone likes them, but is that really any reason to support such a slaughter that can not only leave the population%u2019s numbers damaged as well as the ecosystem? Like it or not, we need rattle snakes. They are a keystone predator, an important one at that, and even though these round ups may bring tourism dollars, they are simply not needed. They are not needed to protect people in neighborhoods, they are not needed for science, and they are not needed for our pure enjoyment.

With spring come rain, flowers and animals awakening from their long hibernations, all longing for the new start of their lives and maybe even the lives of their young. However, this new start may not come for hundreds of diamond back rattle snakes, as they are captured and brought back to be a part of an annual tradition in many states known as the rattle snake round up. How many times have I heard the saying %u2018the only good snake is a dead snake%u2019, it surprises me how simply ignorant people can be. Before you form an opinion on this, if you hate all snakes, at least read what I have to say. I love snakes, so I may be a little one sided, I even have a snake of my own. And I have even had my own encounter with a venomous snake; no I wasn%u2019t bitten, because I got away from the snake before it tried to strike at me. Really, snakes in the wild just want to be left alone. Their first instinct is not to bite, but to get away from whatever may be confronting it. In some cases, the snake%u2019s only option is to bite. I%u2019ve heard claims of people wanting to kill these animals because they bit their dog or child. These people don%u2019t stop and think about what may have made the snake strike, the snakes warning being ignored, and the child or the dog continuing the pester it will only make it strike. Only 3 percent of rattle snake bites are fatal, just as the same fatality number of horse riding accidents and bites from venomous spiders.

No one really stops to think of the damage of taking hundreds, if not thousands of rattle snakes from a given area. No one stops and decides that this is wrong, as we all know not many people truly like snakes. For whatever reason, in a few states like Texas, Alabama and Georgia, people ignore %u2018animal cruelty%u2019 and take part in destroying the ecosystem. Rattle snakes are feared and hated, simply because we do not know about them, other that their bites can kill. But really, is this any reason to kill these animals every year? When you think about it, 4.7 million people are bitten by their domestic dogs every year. In the 1980%u2019s and the 1990%u2019s, the numbers of fatalities were 17 fatalities per year. While in the 2000%u2019s, the number has risen to 26 fatal attacks per year. Around 20 people are killed per year by rattle snakes, and most of those people are killed while trying to kill the snake.

At one time, these round ups were started to rid the snakes from areas they were not wanted, and now are considered annual %u2018family fun%u2019 events. %u2018Professional%u2019 handlers give out wrong facts and statistics about these animals, an only spread the hate/ignorance for the rattle snake to others. Not once has it ever been said by these handlers that the snakes could go extinct in some areas because of these round ups.

How are the snakes caught? The %u2018hunters%u2019 pour gasoline into the holes ( in most cases Gopher Tortoise burros ) down onto the snake, which damages the lungs of the snake badly. These holes aren%u2019t only used by the snakes, but other hibernating animals. Once captured, these snakes are stored in unhygienic conditions, more than likely without food or water, and packed tightly in containers. These round ups generally do not take injured snakes, they want the animals to look as vicious and mean as they can.

Why were these round ups started? They were first started to collect research on how to make anti venom, and people would collect them from around playgrounds and local communities. However, it may be rare to find rattlesnakes around such places, which is why people are going out into the wilderness and destroying the ecosystem. Each year hunters claim they have to go further and further to find the rattle snakes. There have also been claims of people wanting to protect their livestock from rattle snakes, while studies from veterinarians and biologists have proven that this is not needed. And instead of preventing people from being bitten by snakes, people have more of a chance to actually be bitten by a snake at these events. (Thousands of snakes in a single area, people walking around not minding where they are stepping)  Without rattle snakes, there are more rodents, rodents can and have been known to spread disease and the snakes not there to eat them, there is more of a chance that they will spread disease.

What happens at these rattle snake round ups? Just like rodeos, there are different rings; different events take place in each ring. And sadly, the most %u2018humane%u2019 is the %u2018beheading%u2019 of the snakes, where their heads are quickly cut off, one by one. There have been claims of people ripping off the rattles of these snakes, and giving them to children at these events. You can also eat rattle snake meat, yes the very rattle snakes that were covered with gasoline, and gutted by someone%u2019s bare, more than likely filthy hands. (Salmonella? Yum. O u o) You can even skin your own rattle snake, make a key chain out of its head and use its bloody skin as a belt, just as the barbarians did back in the day. Nice to see that we are getting back to our roots, neh? (When you cut open a snake their nerves are still %u2018going%u2019 I don%u2019t know why, but whatever. So if you%u2019re not already cutting open the live snake, you can see just what it is like to cut a live snake open.) Salmonella can affect people with weak immune systems, the elderly and young children. The best way to prevent salmonella after holding a snake is washing your hands, good luck finding one at a round up, even after your children have been holding the snakes. When people eat the snake meat, the ribs are still in the snake, people have claimed the meat does not taste good, as they get two slabs of meat probably 2-3 inches long.

My theory of why we still continue these rattle snake round ups is for the money, if anything. However, if Texas or any of these states really want to make money from tourism, why can%u2019t they do something about preserving these animals? There are many, many different attractions Texas alone could have, so why focus on just having the rattlesnake roundups as a part of big business? Not only are snakes slaughtered out of ignorance, their names pushed deeper into the mud as being dangerous animals, but people can get sick, or bitten. Salmonella can get bad enough that it can kill.

It disgusts me that the fact that its %u201CJust snakes%u201D is a reason to not try and stop this. If it were a cute, fuzzy animal that were being harvested, skinned, have their  heads worn on belts, people would be furious. But no. For whatever reason, %u2018slimy%u2019 snakes don%u2019t deserve to live%u2026(And, by the way they aren%u2019t slimy at all%u2026) What makes a rat, wolf, raccoon, or any other animal that seems to get love now any better than a snake?

-       What do you think?   -

If these events are for science, why has not a single scientific article been published from them?

Rattlesnakes are already harmed by the habitat loss, why do we need to manage them further?

Is it safe to have so many children and elderly people in a single area with this many rattle snakes?

Should these events continue? Why or why not?