Karma is a....

http://www.kirotv.com/news/13858249/detail.html

Quote:

---

PROSSER, Wash. -- Apparently, even a dead snake can bite. A man said he was bitten by the decapitated head of a rattlesnake on his property near Prosser, Wash. Danny Anderson and his son saw the 5-foot rattler Monday evening while feeding horses.They pinned it with a pipe and cut off its head with a shovel. When Anderson reached down to pick it up, he said, the snake head twisted around and bit his index finger. In the 10 minutes it took to reach Prosser Memorial Hospital, the venom spread through his body and his tongue had already started to swell.He was treated with shots at the hospital. A state Fish and Wildlife Department biologist said it's possible the snake had the heat-sensing ability to make one last attack -- or it may have been a reflex.

---

I wonder what would have happened if they would have just left it alone...hmmm.....

Man good for him :colbert: some peoples kids :mad:

Revenge is a dish best served COLD!

Question 1- Why chop off it's head? :mad:

Question 2- Why pick up a freshly cut off head? With your hand, duh :confused:

Question 3 - Why don't people respect nature? :(

Rattlesnakes are much more afraid of you then you are of them :eek: , just avoid them or scare them off, no harm no foul.

Never under estimate the power of stupidity! It is a very powerful force!

Good for that snake!

People who don't know about snakes should just leave them ALL alone. At least that is what I was taught growing up and spending my summers on a horse farm. If I saw a snake (and I saw a lot of them) I was told to "leave it be and walk away from it".

Well this probably won't be a popular opinion, but on our farm we always carried guns with us when checking the pastures and doing feed drops, just for rattlers. Horses, cattle and sheep were our main forms of income, and they don't know to stay away from snakes. I love and respect all snakes, even rattlers, but you can't really let them stay in your pastures with your livestock, it's foolish.

But yeah, chopping off and then picking up a head like that is also a bit foolish.

Most rattlesnake bites are from being stepped on or startled so I can see the concern if you are a rancher.

Sarah, love the quote by the way.

Thanks, Raul :D

"What is the last thing a Redneck says before they die?"

"Here hold my beer, and watch this!"

Thats what i thought of after reading that, i think he was trying to impress his son! While i was growing up in IL, on a farm, with ACRES of land we had Corn, and Soybeans, we would walk the feilds in groups and pull weeds out of the Soy feilds. It sucked but everyone in the family did it. Every once and a while we would come across a Rattlesnack or a Cottonmouth and we never shot them, or at them. we simplely walked around them and picked the spot later.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by SarahMB

Well this probably won't be a popular opinion, but on our farm we always carried guns with us when checking the pastures and doing feed drops, just for rattlers. Horses, cattle and sheep were our main forms of income, and they don't know to stay away from snakes. I love and respect all snakes, even rattlers, but you can't really let them stay in your pastures with your livestock, it's foolish.

But yeah, chopping off and then picking up a head like that is also a bit foolish.

---

I don't think that's so "unpopular" of a statement, just a true, accurate one. ;)
I... sort of.... grew up on farms and ranches. My grandfather was a farmer and raised cattle as well. In addition, my family also lived on the property of a farmer/rancher so live stock and cattle... and snakes were an everyday occurance. My grandpa and landlords carried guns as well as snake hooks and a good ole' burlap sack (they didn't have snake bags back then) and if it wasn't feesable or realistic to relocate the snake, by God they shot it.

We too were raised to just "leave the snakes alone!" The only snakes we played with were the garters and corn snakes. If it didn't fit either of those profiles, we steered clear of them. But then again, we were taught from a very early age what snake was what and that you don't just go grabbing them, dead, decapated or not.

I can (kind of) understand why "city folk" would not know a corn snake from an ear of corn but it never ceases to amaze me how so many "country folk" seem to be completely ignorant of snakes as well. Now who knows if this guy was city or country and really it doesn't matter.... common sense is common sense and, apparently something that society as a whole is no longer teaching in schools. :D

I guess, in some ways, we have TV and movies to thank for the ignorance run amuk and irrational fears and phobias that so many people have. :colbert:

wow. makes me almost wish he didn't survive.. no i take it back, it's a shame he did survive. Could have just moved the thing. why did he find a need to kill it? I'll tell you why. because he's a pathetic human and has the universal human feeling of superiority, despite the fact that humans are inferior to every other animal in every way. scumbags like that make me sick.

Quote:

---

If another rattlesnake comes along, Anderson said he’ll likely try to kill it again, but said he’ll grab a shovel and bury it right there.

---

Apparently he didn't learn anything.

Unfortunately, in rural environments you can't let dangerous snakes live around valuable stock, and I'd wager that most people don't know enough to relocate them safely (I'm not sure I do) and so killing them is the best method.
Where I grew up in the hills, it was an hour to the nearest hospital and all of us kids ran around barefoot. That meant that copperheads around the house got killed, unquestionably. We all knew how to recognize them from an early age, and it was just the way things were. They afforded me some interesting dissection opportunities as a budding scientist...one that we found in an old tin pile had eaten two skinks and an Eastern fence lizard. I had always assumed that mammals were their primary diet.

So anyway...all other species were left alone (well more likely, we caught them and looked at them and then released them) and the big black snakes that found their way into the chicken coop were relocated to a neighbor's barn.

But the ones that could harm a child or the livestock and were in the areas around the house, well they had to go. Outside of the pasture, we left them alone...did you know copperheads also eat fish? I got to watch one kill and eat a shiner in the creek once.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by slartibartfast

Unfortunately, in rural environments you can't let dangerous snakes live around valuable stock, and I'd wager that most people don't know enough to relocate them safely (I'm not sure I do) and so killing them is the best method.
Where I grew up in the hills, it was an hour to the nearest hospital and all of us kids ran around barefoot. That meant that copperheads around the house got killed, unquestionably. We all knew how to recognize them from an early age, and it was just the way things were. They afforded me some interesting dissection opportunities as a budding scientist...one that we found in an old tin pile had eaten two skinks and an Eastern fence lizard. I had always assumed that mammals were their primary diet.

So anyway...all other species were left alone (well more likely, we caught them and looked at them and then released them) and the big black snakes that found their way into the chicken coop were relocated to a neighbor's barn.

But the ones that could harm a child or the livestock and were in the areas around the house, well they had to go. Outside of the pasture, we left them alone...did you know copperheads also eat fish? I got to watch one kill and eat a shiner in the creek once.

---

I agree what people said about Ranchers.....

Maybe not these individuals, but some people perhaps do deserve some Karma....as pointed out in this thread. I'm doubt all those people were ranchers or even from a rural area!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by anthrpicdecadnce

wow. makes me almost wish he didn't survive.. no i take it back, it's a shame he did survive. Could have just moved the thing. why did he find a need to kill it? I'll tell you why. because he's a pathetic human and has the universal human feeling of superiority, despite the fact that humans are inferior to every other animal in every way. scumbags like that make me sick.

---

wow, that's a bit strong there. I know everybody on this site are animal lovers, particularly snake lovers, but to wish death on somebody because he killed a snake that could have killed him or his son.. that's strong. In his mind, he's just lookin out for himself, his son, and his horses.

I agree with you sarah, 110%!:rockon:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Jae iLL

wow, that's a bit strong there. I know everybody on this site are animal lovers, particularly snake lovers, but to wish death on somebody because he killed a snake that could have killed him or his son.. that's strong. In his mind, he's just lookin out for himself, his son, and his horses.

---

It was way more than a bit strong! I agree here too!

It is definately a tough balance for anyone who owns lifestock; be it two horses, or 900 had of cattle. I know that if I went out into the pasture and saw any animal attacking one of my horses, it'd be dead as soon as I could load my rifle. I am not going to say "oh, look at the cute mountain lion and how adorably she is biting into my mare's neck!" In most cases if I could scare the animal off, I would do so. And good fences are essential to keep predators out; anyone who will not fence their animal securely to prevent predaor invasion and livestock escape is just a plain lazy moron. But smaller animals have no bounderies. I am a snake lover and yeah, it upsets me that the guy in the article killed the rattler. But some animals' natural predators are in low supply in places, which leads to an overpopulation of tha prey item. Take, the groundhogs on the farm here. my landlord's old dog used to be great at keeping their numbers down to a good level. His present dog would rather lick your face than attack you if you were a burglar; needless to say they are overpopulating.. gotta pick them off, as a result.
So i see the HUGE numbers of rattlers in the southwest. Is this natural, or is it a result of their predators being killed off?

I agree, that comment was taken too quickly off the cuff. I understand the point behind it and that "it's a shame he did survive" was probably (hopefully) not meant literally, however, that's a bit short sighted.

Gin makes a very good point and a true analogy. While someone who has never lived in the country on a farm or ranch might not understand how or why it would be not only logical but also the wisest course of actcion to kill a venomous snake or, to use Gin's example, a mountain lion, those of us who have, have a better understanding of "ya do what ya gotta' do to protect yourself, your family and your assets".

It would be nice if everyone were educated in wild animals but, unfortunately, they aren't. It would be nice if everyone had the time, tools and knowledge to be able to safely relocate a venomous snake out of their property... but they don't and that's just life and people.

To remove a venomous snake from one's property, be it by relocation or death, is no different than removing mites off one of our snakes.
Mites need to live too, after all and we don't even give a second thought to killing them before they harm our assets and prized possessions, nor do we think twice about killing the roach that just scampered across our kitchen floor.
While you or I may not like roaches (or mites) some people do and DO consider them "pets" and "cool" and worthy of being protected... just like we do with our snakes (and in my case, tarantulas and scorpions and all things creepy crawlie).

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Shadowspider

I agree, that comment was taken too quickly off the cuff. I understand the point behind it and that "it's a shame he did survive" was probably (hopefully) not meant literally, however, that's a bit short sighted.

Gin makes a very good point and a true analogy. While someone who has never lived in the country on a farm or ranch might not understand how or why it would be not only logical but also the wisest course of actcion to kill a venomous snake or, to use Gin's example, a mountain lion, those of us who have, have a better understanding of "ya do what ya gotta' do to protect yourself, your family and your assets".

It would be nice if everyone were educated in wild animals but, unfortunately, they aren't. It would be nice if everyone had the time, tools and knowledge to be able to safely relocate a venomous snake out of their property... but they don't and that's just life and people.

To remove a venomous snake from one's property, be it by relocation or death, is no different than removing mites off one of our snakes.
Mites need to live too, after all and we don't even give a second thought to killing them before they harm our assets and prized possessions, nor do we think twice about killing the roach that just scampered across our kitchen floor.
While you or I may not like roaches (or mites) some people do and DO consider them "pets" and "cool" and worthy of being protected... just like we do with our snakes (and in my case, tarantulas and scorpions and all things creepy crawlie).

---

:rockon:

righteous mayn. Great post