Very Disturbing...

The following link pertains to a recent rattlesnake roundup.
If you click the middle link it will bring you to a set of pictures.
WARNING: some of these are very graphic.
Take Warning
http://www.themorningnews.org/archiv...d_up_PRINT.php

Are you angry?
Rusty

Words cannot express how I feel after seeing that.

ummm.... woah.

I think I'll wait awhile before even clicking on that link. I'm way more sensitive in the mornings. I just have to hear/read the words "rattlesnake roundup" and my jaw gets tight with anger.

That's disgusting and in no way neccessary. I can't wait until these morons start getting overrun by rats and other rodents.

Course then they will probably stand around scratching their heads wondering why there is so many rodents :roll:

Just plain horrible...........what a waste :x

Same here....I have no idea what to even say.
I 'accompanied' some of my friends to the church a few weeks ago to do a reptile 'show' to raise money for the church.
They wanted to borrow one of my geckos.
And my cousin has a 5 foot Columbian red tail boa, 2 ball pythons, an iguana (who she obviously left at home) and a cornsnake. And she borrowed her sisters leopard gecko.
My friend has a ball python, a coumbian red tail boa, a cornsnake, a milksnake, 3 bearded dragons and a leopard gecko.
All these old women kept coming in the room and yelling at us.
One commented that she wished she had brought her ho.
Not a ho like she's a pimp.
We just sort of ignored her and talked to the woman in charge of the church fundraiser type thing.
Yea, people are so stupid now-a-days.
Bye.

-collin

I saw one of these "round ups" on the Discovery channel a couple of months ago and was horrified to see this going on. Whats the point in this? I couldn't believe that if this can't be stopped, there aren't any regulations as to how many snakes could be caught!

Just like MacWin said, they won't know what hit them when they are over run with rodents! Just ask the people in Austrailia about the plauge of mice that hits them every year, and they don't even do round ups there!!

Well enough ranting! I did check into this to see what could be done, but never got any answers. Wonder why?? :roll:

Danielle

Well, now I'm mad.

It wrong that the government looks the other way on this, just because WDR's aren't protected under the endangered species act.....

What goes around comes around.

That's absolutely horrible... how is it the rattlesnakes' fault that rachers' cattle are taking over their habitat? Leave it to Texans to make an event out of killing a whole bunch of innocent things... this PETA member is pissed.

Stoopid Americans.....not saying ALL americans are stoopid, but sorry, only in america would you find people stupid enough to enjoy that sick and twisted event....damn lets do a texan round up and beheading

Canadians are the ones who murder thousands and thousands of baby harp seals every year by clubbing them to death... they're quite possibly the most defenseless animals *ever*. That doesn't make much sense either, eh?

http://www.harpseals.org/gallery/mpe...llowjacket.jpg

Let's try not to make this a Canada vs US issue.

Here's a link I found on harp seal hunting:
http://www.iht.com/articles/513339.html

In my opinion, the revival of the hunt is motivated by cod. Newfoundland used to be completely dependent on its cod fisheries and was economically devastated in the early 90's by the moratorium. The federal government is probably allowing the hunting based on providing jobs for Newfoundlanders, and to help the recovery of cod stocks.

Personally, I'm not as averse to the death of the rattlers themselves as I am the spectacle made of the process. It essentially glorifies the killing of snakes in general, as many of the audience would probably have trouble distinguishing western diamondbacks from other snake species in the wild. I do regret the loss of the rattlers' lives, but as long as they're not endangered it's bound to happen when people and wildlife come to odds. You can't do much about human overpopulation, unless you want to become a mass murderer. 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 (As it is today, males average about half the sperm count of their grandfathers). I just hope we haven't wiped out all animal life on the planet by that point.

lol MJ. PWNED!!!

Bunching America together with some texan rednecks who get a rise out of killing rattlesnakes is exactly like bunching all of Canada with seal clubbers.

Let's not turn this thread into some political battle.

I really should not go to these sites....
I am just speachless...

Plagued by rodents now, hmmmm, I'm still waiting on that one. I've live in texas all my life, and never have seen a shortage of rattlesnakes anywhere i've been. The roundup is making use of a natural resource that we have and using it to make a profit. It is in no way trying to show that snakes are evil or immoral or whatever you think is being portrayed. You could compare the roundup to any innumerable other things happening in this world, most of which are much worse. For all you Peta members, I'm surprised that you could consider owning an undomesticated animal as remotely ethical, I would think you would say it is meant to be wild, so how could you tame it. so step down from you're high and mightly little perch and look at your own practices towards animals and see if they the most ethical, I'm sure I could find faults under your requirements for ethical treatment. Well, unless maybe you're a true vegan, but i doubt that. As for this ranch raised guy, I'll stick to my ways. I'll keep hunting, fishing, and if I really want to, I'll drive on up to sweetwater and attend the roundup and show that its not a fear, It's economics. 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.

Spoken like a true texan...

I don't think we have many hardcore liberal peta members here, however this site is a reptile site. Meaning we have a lot of snake lovers. Which is why we don't really like the thought that some farmers get a kick out o slaughtering rattlers just so they can have some fun. I'm sure people would cry a freaking river if we were killing dogs or cats. Truthfully, what's the difference besides personal feelings.

The fact that you called us left wing liberals is pretty condescending if you ask me. But then again:

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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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Yeeeeehaw!

EDIT: I love your aim screen name.

Well said, Godfather!

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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.

A lot of generalizations have been made in this thread, but generalizations are just that: generalizations and nothing more. Animal cruelty is everywhere, regardless of where you live. As animal lovers it's our job to try to help put an end to it, not point the finger at whoever the biggest hypocrite is (which yeah I did start but it was still an awesome point). Texas sucks for killing the rattlesnakes, Canada sucks for clubbing baby seals, Mexico sucks for bull fighting, Thailand sucks for bear baiting. It all just sucks. That's it.

Hey, you can't say "Canada sucks for clubbing baby seals" when only a part of Canada(the faaaaar north with the Inuits and stuff where they use it for food, shelter, etc) kills them(Unless you're talking about the people who do it for sport and such. If so, I wasn't aware it was that big of a problem. I thought it was outlawed). If you're gonna say it like that, you should replace Texas with USA. :)

Anyway....I'm off to take a few swigs of Pepto-Bismol..I feel ill after visiting that site. It's one thing to harvest all those snakes for their skin, meat, and venom. But to make a big County Fair-like event out of it....sickens me.

Hello all,
Here are a few more links. Many have ideas on what to do if you would like to put a stop to the roundups.

http://www.abqhosting.com/apnm/RattlesnakeRoundup.pdf

http://www.hsus.org/ace/12057

http://www.kingsnake.com/roundup/

http://thiscause.org/p/read.php?peti...5485ac49799e70


Thank you
Rusty

(* Disclaimer: there is a link above from the HSUS website. I in NO way support the HSUS nor am I a member)

once again, rusty saves the day.

that link made me mad and sad at the same time. i've never felt this mix of emotions before. it's weird.



it's more mad than sad though. it also makes me mad when people come into where i work and they look at the snakes and then, after looking at all of them, they say 'the only good snake is a dead snake.' and then they proceed to talk about how they found a wild snake in their yard and they took a rake to it. Even though I'm 99% sure that it was harmless to them. especially around here, where the only chance of seeing a venomous snake is seeing a cottonmouth.

yeah, that was my rant.

those poor rattle snakes ! i live in new mexxico and people here die after being bitten by them and therfore i am kinda scared of them, but still that is no need for people to go out and kill hem for no reason.

I think my appetite for dinner has been successfully quelled. And then to add insult to injury, the poor Harp Seals. I remember seeing a brutal documentary on Harp Seal clubbing when I was a child. My parents were away on a trip and I sat and cried at my bedroom window b/c I was so disturbed by what my innocent eyes had just witnessed. All I wanted was my Mommy!!

All of this is senseless, brutal, abuse of innocent animals...I'm overwhelmed w/anger!!!!! :evil:

The sad thing about it is I have seen up close and personal people get shot and killed and was fine. I looked at this and my stomach just turned, to think of the ignorant people behind this "event" and the fact that it is just fine with most poeple.

omg ! i live in alamogordo, i didnt know they had rattle snake round ups here! that makes me so mad. i go joggin and i see rattle snakes all the time and they have never harmed me,That makes me so mad.

i emailed the news place thingy. heres what i said.

i dont know when this article was published, and i dont know where to send this letter so im sending it here. if there is an appropriate place for this, please forward it there. the whole idea of this snake round up thing is flat out cruel. you all should be arrested for animal cruelity. they were there before you ever were, so let them be. how would you like it if a bunch of snakes hunted you down and chopped your head off? i hope you guys feel proud of yourself for hunting something smaller than you down and killing it.


what you guys think?

The rattlesnake round-up people are the freakin' devil.
We should catch all the rattlers, take them udedrground, and replace them with robot rattlesnale, and while the real rattlers are safely hidden in an underground facility, while the robot rattlers whip out laser cannons on the rattlesnake 'hunters'.
And people wonder why so many species of venomous snakes are on the verge of extinction.
I amlost threw up when I saw the trashcan full of rattlesnake heads.
I cronged everytime I clicked to see the next picture, just to prepare myself for what was to come, thanks for the warning rusty.

-collin

That hurts me so much to see them do that :cry:

What disgusting morons. I think someone should start a "Rattlesnake Wrangler roundup."

I have known about these rattlesnake roundups for quite some time and it truly amazes me that this kind of madness is permitted to go on. I do not see how the rattlesnake population can sustain this kind of wholesale butchery ever year. The main problem here is human ignorance and stupidity. These clowns probably think they are doing a good thing by killing off every rattlesnake in sight. They lack a more refined intelligence in realizing that these animals play a pivotal role in the ecosystem and it is just too darn bad that they are not cuddly, sweet little critters. It is sad to see that there is still hatred shown towards snakes in general and venomous snakes in particular. I suppose because I am a snake hobbyist I might be somewhat biased but I agree....we ought to have a round up of Texans and behead a few thousand.
EyeLashViper

Not all Texans are guilty in this matter, lets try not to make blanket statements. More violence does not solve anything as then 'we' are just as bad as them. Again, this is another situation where there is no easy solution. Rusty included some links in this thread suggesting some constructive ways to help stop these roundups, check 'em out!

As with most things in this world ... education is the key. We may not be able to get to the "good ol' boys", but the next generation and the generation after that are the key. It is going to be a while before these kinds of activities are completely stopped. There is too much money to be made, and as long as people keep attending and buying this kind of merchandise, these kinds of roundups will continue. Greed is a powerful thing. Just my 2 cents, but i feel that educating people is the key to removing this kind of slaugher.

im not supporting this, but some people need to pay more attention to the information. The meat is used and they are milked. It is all said SO plainly in that slideshow. Its funny that people catch the part about the gallbladders being used, but dont catch the part about them being milked and the meat used. Meat can be provided by farming though im sure (like alligator is), maybe not as cheaply but still.... I also wouldnt have a problem at all with a organized "season" with limits and whatnot, if a population study is done, and they can reasonably determine what numbers should be and what they are and it is done to manage the population (the way bag limits are on deer).

Well all i can say is that im ashamed to belong to the same species as these sick people who do these roundups, its barbaric gross and just down right evil.
and that goes to everyone who enjoys going to these events.
how can anyone even think about puting on a show plainly just to abuse these animals and have fun doing it!?!
i mean WTF is wrong with people these days?!? it beggars belief to think that these sick acts still go on!
capturing milking and releasing is fair enough i have no problems with that what so ever as it has a point to it , roundups however are completly pointless and disgusting!...(actually the only point i can see to roundups are that they are a very effective way to cause a beautiful animal to go extinct)

I belive in karma so hopefully soon some bad karma to act some long overdue ass kicking unrelentless revenge on these evil rattler wranglers kicking there asses all over texas!

There's NO stopping the destruction of some people!!!!.... Why can't they leave nature alone, to be as beautiful as it was intended.... :mad: :taz: Slithered:snake:

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Originally Posted by Rusty_Reptiles

The following link pertains to a recent rattlesnake roundup.
If you click the middle link it will bring you to a set of pictures.
WARNING: some of these are very graphic.
Take Warning
http://www.themorningnews.org/archiv...d_up_PRINT.php

Are you angry?
Rusty

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Absolutely disgusting...