Very Disturbing...

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My theory is eventually we'll pollute ourselves so much and lead such unhealthy lifestyles that our fertility rates will be low enough for our numbers to plane out

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Lets hope that dosn't happen any time soon. LOL!

The only positive side I can see to this is the harvesting on venom, which doesn't mean they have to be slautered for them, just milked. I could understand capturing, milking, and releasing them for fun. But slautering is pointless.

Who knows maybe some of that venom they take from slautered snakes will save some of these texans one day. Or maybe it'll just take a few dead people during these events before people stop.

Now, just to stop me from being assaulted: I'm not a liberal, I'm in the middle. I'm not an activist, I'm not a hardcore yankee either.

Also: I understand the slaughter of cows, chicken, pigs, fish, etc. We eat them, not waste them. The capture and eventual beheading of these snakes is purely for sport, you can't really eat such a small animal, who'd waste time cuttin them up. The only real biproduct is skin. Which can be made into...um....cowboy boots. No point in it. Unlike hunting and fishing, where you eat what is captured.

Sorry guys and gals if I'm being a slightly jerkish about this. But the masacre of 120 tons of snakes for no reason is a pretty serious matter.

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The rest of y'all can keep you're left wing liberal ethics, and I'll keep in mind that I live in free country, and I'll enjoy my freedoms....you can enjoy your's too, thats why its called America. All that I really ask is you don't look down your nose at everyone else, and impose your views on them.

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Good to be reminded that I live in a free country. Where I can express my views. Thanks for telling me.

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Originally Posted by The_Godfather

Also: I understand the slaughter of cows, chicken, pigs, fish, etc. We eat them, not waste them. The capture and eventual beheading of these snakes is purely for sport, you can't really eat such a small animal, who'd waste time cuttin them up. The only real biproduct is skin. Which can be made into...um....cowboy boots. No point in it. Unlike hunting and fishing, where you eat what is captured.

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One minor point here: LOTS of folks eat rattlesnake and other reptiles (gator here in the states, iguana further south). If there were a limit to the number of snakes they could harvest, each one were milked for venom, and the meat was used from all of them, I probably wouldn't have anything to say on this. It's the unlimited slaughter (as opposed to licensed hunting) and recapture/use (going by the article) of only the gall bladders and skins that makes me angry about this.

If you want to catch a snake, kill it, and eat it. By all means do so. But to gather hundreds, milk them, play games with them then whack their heads off (which is one of the more humane ways, Ive heard stories about them throwing gasoline on the snake pit and lighting them up) all for the sake of a good time, is obsurd.
Do you tourture deer when you hunt them? Do you play games with them first?
Sheesh! No matter what the species, you could at least have a little humanity and not scare the things s***less for the sake of a good time!!!

EDIT: not trying to be rude, I just get a bit passionate about roundups. They just seem very un-humane to me.

I still think the US vs. Canada debate could have been friggin hilarious :D

Goodness. this thread is starting to erupt into flames. I'll state my thoughts and then leave. I think that if your going to kill a rattlesnake have a reason for it. Like for food. But just whacking off snakes heads for fun is plain cruel! And as for the Us vr. Canada debate, lets just say we both have stupid people in each country.

Some one brought up a good point I thought id mention. If I were to post pictures of me holding a bloody knife, standing over a bunch of cat bodies on the internet, I would probably end up in jail. Go figure.

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Originally Posted by First_time_herp

Goodness. this thread is starting to erupt into flames. I'll state my thoughts and then leave. I think that if your going to kill a rattlesnake have a reason for it. Like for food. But just whacking off snakes heads for fun is plain cruel! And as for the Us vr. Canada debate, lets just say we both have stupid people in each country.

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we'd win. seals are way cuter than rattlesnakes.

Agreed Jeff. Considering I said it. However, according to my father, the hunts have eased up in other states, such as Arizona. He used to bring me back stuff made from rattlers when I was little :( Now when he goes there, he tells me such products are not to be found. You used to be able to buy bags of the skin...

I think this rattlesnake roundup does nothing but hurt Texas' reputation as...well....redneck. No offense to anyone in Texas. I live in Maine, people assume we're all farmers.

Also, they are NOT harvesting venom which could be used to treat bite victims. They are only harvesting galbladders...what ever use they have. Chinese people use stuff like tiger teeth and such for medical stuff.

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Originally Posted by The_Godfather

Also, they are NOT harvesting venom which could be used to treat bite victims. They are only harvesting galbladders...what ever use they have. Chinese people use stuff like tiger teeth and such for medical stuff.

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:?: ummm......not harvesting the venom, check picture #11, it shows them harvesting venom.
I also believe that its a 120 tons harvested since 1958, not annually.

and by the way, i wasnt refering to everyone in this site as a left wing liberal. There was "one pissed off peta member" in particular, and then another calling texans a moron, and then the "lets have texan roundup and beheading" comment that really got to me. So yeah, I went off on a bit of a rant. I personally like snakes and keep 2, a ball python and a hogg island boa. So i'm not just some snake hating person either.