Rattlesnake roundup

Jacobchinarian

Arachnoknight
Old Timer
Joined
Aug 2, 2010
Messages
255
Has anyone heard of this?!?! I can't believe it's still legal. I wish I knew how to virus the website. Those @$$ holes didn't even put anything to contact them and face people that don't like slaughtering snakes by the tons. Here's the link: http://www.rattlesnakeroundup.net/ Even worst they milk all the snakes before they chop their heads off with a machete to justify it as helping medical science with their contaminated venom. Does anyone know how to help illegalize this.
 

kevin91172

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Oct 11, 2009
Messages
407
Yes I heard of it..Unfortunately my estrange father of mine I have not talked to for years goes every year,He has been going for years.He invited my one to catch up on some things But I said I would just pass.I actually keep 6 rattlesnakes and do not enjoy this kind of a show in my opinion.

But to each is....

---------- Post added at 05:01 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:59 PM ----------

Oh BTW lets not let our government go poking around as far as getting to be illegal ,it may do more harm than good.....:?
 

madamoisele

Arachnosquire
Joined
Oct 28, 2010
Messages
141
I watched an hour long documentary on this once. While I don't agree with some of the things they do, it is absolutely necessary to "cull" a certain amount in order to keep them away from human dwellings.

Even so, not enough respect is shown this majestic animal, in my opinion.
 

spydrhunter1

Arachnolord
Old Timer
Joined
Mar 16, 2005
Messages
641
it is absolutely necessary to "cull" a certain amount in order to keep them away from human dwellings.
WHAT!! Maybe we should think before we build our homes where they live, we have crowded wildlife in to such little spaces its ridiculous. Populations of wildlife are facing increasing threats for inbreeding, isolated populations and other man created problems.Maybe we should think before building a house in the desert or on the edge of the Florida everglades.
 

xhexdx

ArachnoGod
Old Timer
Joined
Jul 20, 2007
Messages
5,357
Great idea...

Do you feel the same about the trucks that spray pesticides every 6 (or so) months to kill the mosquitoes?

What about lobster season? Scallop season? Grouper season? Deer season? Alligator season?

Did you know they put a bounty on the mongoose in Hawaii a few years ago because their numbers were ridiculously high?

*sigh*
 

Jacobchinarian

Arachnoknight
Old Timer
Joined
Aug 2, 2010
Messages
255
Nature was working before we came in. Humans are more overpopulated than any other animal. In school I was tought how if you lower one preditor the population of it's pray increases inversely. Since nature was working before we came in that ment there were rattlesnakes keeping other animals from gaining to high of a population. You kill a ton of rattlesnakes and you get a ton rats and mice. So then humans kill those which makes another population lower since rats are the prey of that animal and they have less to eat so more die.
 

spydrhunter1

Arachnolord
Old Timer
Joined
Mar 16, 2005
Messages
641
Great idea...

Do you feel the same about the trucks that spray pesticides every 6 (or so) months to kill the mosquitoes?

What about lobster season? Scallop season? Grouper season? Deer season? Alligator season?

Did you know they put a bounty on the mongoose in Hawaii a few years ago because their numbers were ridiculously high?

*sigh*
1) there is something called IPM (I was a Public health Entomologist for nine years), although it (Spraying) is small part of an the IPM system.

2) lobster, scallop grouper, deer and alligator seasons are HIGHLY regulated.

3)Mongoose in Hawaii (man introduced) predator destroying an island habitat. Lets talk what the introduced animals (iguanas, pythons, etc.) are doing to the everglades.
 

Bigboy

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
Nov 18, 2004
Messages
1,234
Great idea...

Do you feel the same about the trucks that spray pesticides every 6 (or so) months to kill the mosquitoes?

What about lobster season? Scallop season? Grouper season? Deer season? Alligator season?

Did you know they put a bounty on the mongoose in Hawaii a few years ago because their numbers were ridiculously high?

*sigh*
Not sure I follow, what are you saying?
 

xhexdx

ArachnoGod
Old Timer
Joined
Jul 20, 2007
Messages
5,357
What exactly are they doing with the rattlesnakes? Killing them and burning their bodies, or putting their meat, skin, etc. to good use?

Pretty sure they actually use them, so it's not like they're putting them to waste.

If I'm wrong and they're just killing them to kill them, then that's another story. Otherwise, there are other animals I'd be more worried about going extinct than rattlers.
 

Hedorah99

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
May 2, 2005
Messages
1,863
What exactly are they doing with the rattlesnakes? Killing them and burning their bodies, or putting their meat, skin, etc. to good use?

Pretty sure they actually use them, so it's not like they're putting them to waste.

If I'm wrong and they're just killing them to kill them, then that's another story. Otherwise, there are other animals I'd be more worried about going extinct than rattlers.
Whales are "put to good use" when harpooned. Doesn't mean we should.
 

madamoisele

Arachnosquire
Joined
Oct 28, 2010
Messages
141
I don't like a lot of things we humans do. In the documentary I watched of the actual event, which included educational materials, the rattlers were indeed eaten, their skins used, and in some cases, the heads as well.

It's a fact that rattlesnake overpopulation in urban areas endangers human and other animal life without culling on the outskirts. There's only a certain time period they are allowed to capture the rattlers. It's quite regulated.

It's also a fact that alligator hunting here in Florida is an absolute necessity to keep the population from exploding to a point where human life is endangered.

Deer hunting in many areas is crucial to prevent the deer from overpopulating, and then starving to death because there's not enough food for all of them. There are no more natural predators to balance them out in these areas - we humans must fill this role now.

All of the animals above are completely used. Regulations are in place.

That's the way it is.
 

Scythemantis

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Feb 27, 2005
Messages
499
Great idea...

Do you feel the same about the trucks that spray pesticides every 6 (or so) months to kill the mosquitoes?
I sure as hell do, for one. WAY more harm than good.
 

Jorpion

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Mar 4, 2009
Messages
324
I don't agree with this culling, or whatever one calls it. I can only hope that there are hundreds of thousands that remain free, wild and happy for the rest of their lives. It's a real shame when you see the major impact human civilization has on native wildlife. Then you add this spectacle on top of it all..
 

xhexdx

ArachnoGod
Old Timer
Joined
Jul 20, 2007
Messages
5,357
Whales are "put to good use" when harpooned. Doesn't mean we should.
If they were responsible about it instead of killing every whale they find, then there probably wouldn't be as much of a problem.

In my opinion, killing an animal for food, clothing, tools, etc. shouldn't be discouraged unless it endangers the species.

People on these boards get fired up when they see the videos of hundreds of Haplopelma being fried up to eat...it's not hurting their numbers, and the townspeople get to eat.

I sure as hell do, for one. WAY more harm than good.
<ignorance> Could you elaborate? </ignorance>

My apologies if this question causes the thread to veer too far off-topic.

Scythemantis, how do you feel about the other examples I gave in that post?
 

RoachGirlRen

Arachnoangel
Old Timer
Joined
Jul 8, 2007
Messages
994
Fewer than a dozen people are killed by venemous snakes in the US annually, and while rattlers are the most common culprit, they aren't the only one. On the other hand, in addition to these mass culls, people kill venemous snakes willy-nilly on a day to day basis all over the US (as well as non-venemous species they're too stupid to properly identify). I can't tell you HOW often I hear of people beating snakes to death with shovels or shooting them on sight down here. Safe and humane removal isn't exactly that difficult, and in many areas there are wildlife removal services that will take care of it for you. Heck, when we were checking out the property we bought here, there was a copperhead in the shed that we relocated ourselves.

I think the "threat" is blown more than a little bit out of proportion and doesn't really justify slaughtering large numbers of snakes. In many areas, rattlers are already threatened or endangered by habitat loss and deliberate killing, and frankly as human settlement expands we're only going to see further declines in their populations even in areas where they presently have strongholds. We're not exactly the "at risk" species in this situation.

The "but it helps medical science!" claim also strikes me as a load of BS. Simply enough, you needn't kill a snake to milk venom; individuals who research snakes and collect venom all over the world routinely do so WITHOUT killing their specimens. There are facilities that exist expressly for the purpose of raising and milking snakes as well. To me, this is very plainly an attempt to try and cast something blatantly grotesque and inhumane in a more positive light.

I also find it a little surprising that on a board with so many herp enthusiasts that anyone defends a practice where the primary method of killing the snakes is decapitation. Anyone who knows "cold blooded" animals knows that decapitation is NOT an AVMA approved method of dispatching reptiles for a darn good reason: the head can live for over an hour after decapitation.

Based on what footage of seen and accounts I've read of these events, they are a far cry from a noble, conservation-minded cull. It is a money-making spectacle that results in wildlife being inhumanely handled and killed, and callously disregarded primarily for the sake of public entertainment.
 

Jacobchinarian

Arachnoknight
Old Timer
Joined
Aug 2, 2010
Messages
255
“culling” is BS. How could there be so little leaves, grass, vegetables, fruit even twigs that we have to kill dear because they would otherwise starve? Not only that but the rattle snake roundup is just a bunch of hilbilleys trying to justify killing something else. They are literally killed by the ton. Thousands of snakes are slaughtered senselessly.
 

syndicate

Arachnoemperor
Old Timer
Joined
Aug 26, 2005
Messages
4,497
Fewer than a dozen people are killed by venemous snakes in the US annually, and while rattlers are the most common culprit, they aren't the only one. On the other hand, in addition to these mass culls, people kill venemous snakes willy-nilly on a day to day basis all over the US (as well as non-venemous species they're too stupid to properly identify). I can't tell you HOW often I hear of people beating snakes to death with shovels or shooting them on sight down here. Safe and humane removal isn't exactly that difficult, and in many areas there are wildlife removal services that will take care of it for you. Heck, when we were checking out the property we bought here, there was a copperhead in the shed that we relocated ourselves.

I think the "threat" is blown more than a little bit out of proportion and doesn't really justify slaughtering large numbers of snakes. In many areas, rattlers are already threatened or endangered by habitat loss and deliberate killing, and frankly as human settlement expands we're only going to see further declines in their populations even in areas where they presently have strongholds. We're not exactly the "at risk" species in this situation.

The "but it helps medical science!" claim also strikes me as a load of BS. Simply enough, you needn't kill a snake to milk venom; individuals who research snakes and collect venom all over the world routinely do so WITHOUT killing their specimens. There are facilities that exist expressly for the purpose of raising and milking snakes as well. To me, this is very plainly an attempt to try and cast something blatantly grotesque and inhumane in a more positive light.

I also find it a little surprising that on a board with so many herp enthusiasts that anyone defends a practice where the primary method of killing the snakes is decapitation. Anyone who knows "cold blooded" animals knows that decapitation is NOT an AVMA approved method of dispatching reptiles for a darn good reason: the head can live for over an hour after decapitation.

Based on what footage of seen and accounts I've read of these events, they are a far cry from a noble, conservation-minded cull. It is a money-making spectacle that results in wildlife being inhumanely handled and killed, and callously disregarded primarily for the sake of public entertainment.
Well said Ren!:clap:
 

tiger cowboy

Arachnopeon
Joined
Oct 27, 2009
Messages
20
“culling” is BS. How could there be so little leaves, grass, vegetables, fruit even twigs that we have to kill dear because they would otherwise starve?
Pretty easily. You can walk around in many state and national parks, or other places where hunting is restricted, and see where deer have browsed the entire understory almost clean. Eventually they will hit a point where they are eating things so nutritionally poor that they starve to death with full bellies. Or they are so weakened overall and in such poor condition they are killed by disease, lesser predators (coyotes), or the weather. I'm sorry but you are very wrong.

You do eventually get a stable population (the carrying capacity of a given habitat for a given species under certain conditions) but a lot of deer die in the process.

I don't want to defend roundups. I personally disagree with them. Just defending accepted wildlife science and management.
 
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