Beheaded rattlesnake sends man to hospital

Didn't know if anyone saw this yet?

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20212558?GT1=10252

My sympathy for the guy is seriously limited - I'm glad he escaped serious harm but that is it. What an ignorant man.

I rmeember a south african lady telling me about somebody who was killed by a decapitated black mamba so it seems this is not a first instance.

The words “serves you right” come to mind.

I can understand why some people kill venomous snakes. If you have a ranch rattlers can be hell on live stock and dogs but there is something of a stastic here.

Most bites are from people that do one of two things

1. Try to kill a snake

2. Try to handle it

This guy did both and proved once again that these are the two best ways to be bitten. Like others I have limited sympathy for this guy, not so much for killing the snake but for being dumb enough to pick up the head with his hands.

Dude sould have stayed awake during high school biology!

I Concur

I believe someone posted about this a few days ago.

serves him right imo , ignorant dumba@@

They say if another Rattlesnake comes around they'll kill it too:(


Some people just never learn.

My sympathies are with the poor Rattlesnake not with these brain-dead morons. They deserved everything they got:mad:

*tries to think of a way to get point across without post being deleted by mod*

okay, so, if the area is thick with rattlers, what is the point of killing any you come across? there are more around anyways... you're never going to get rid of them all and it's foolish to think that you can! did they mention whether or not the snake was actually a threat to them? it didn't sound like it to me. and as far as being worried about a snake harming his horses... why would it? unless he has VERY small horses, the snake isn't going to give them a second thought. so, why kill it??? and if you're gonna kill it, isn't there a better way than bashing it with a shovel???

I use basics when talking to farmers.

Mr. Farmer sir, are you able to give me a general estimate on how much growing stock such as seed and product are destroyed by pests such as rodent infestations and birds.

Ahh you say about 10 to 20% is average but it’s better than 30 or 40% without poisons and pest killer. Did you know that snakes would solve most of your problems for free?
Yeah the animal is dangerous but only if interfered with. Leave the animal to do what it’s designed for and it will save you money no hassle. Etc. etc.

This is a tough thing. I never want to see any snake killed and have removed more then a few rattle snakes from areas to close to people. I have found "farmers" more forgiving to rattlers then "ranchers". It is a tough thing to tell a man who makes his living on livestock to not kill them when he has a few dozen animals and more then one family dog killed or mutlated by them.

You can say killing them will not reduce their numbers but that is not the case it does reduce local populations. I know a guy in South Texas that kills all rattlers on site but picks up every bull, rat, king, etc snake he finds on the roads and lets em go on his ranch. His comment to me way, "Look Jack I ain't got nuthin against a snake, they are just doing what they are here to do. Yet I don't have the nerve to capture them and you would tell anyone who does not know how to handle them, including me, not to touch them right? (I answered yes) So I have over a dozen cattle bit a year, I have lost two dogs and one I loved almost as much as my kids. So when I see a rattler he gets dust shot, it ain't personal, I just have to make a living and protect my animals, my kids and my hired hands. Now if your around here and we see a snake and you want to catch it and take it away but are you going to drive 300 miles everytime we find one"?

Now that is hard to argue with, isn't it? The one thing I can say for this guy is they have the decency to eat rattlers when they kill one, he says "never let anything be killed for no reason if it does not have to be that way". Again this is hard to argue with.

I don't like it and indeed I would remove any rattler for him when visiting, (and I have) but day to day this man has a ranch to run and he will never kill all of the snakes, he and his people don't seek them out they just take out the ones that come aroud the bunk houses, pastures, etc. Honestly though I hate to see a snake killed, I can't look this man in the face and tell him he is wrong for what he does own his on land. Now of course he and his people are not stupid enough to play with dead snake heads!

He sounds like a cool guy.

His argument is unassailable. In his case, its a simple matter of incompatibilities. Actively, or passively, we all are responsible for some similar impact on wild-life.

Its cool that he catches non-venemous and brings them to his farm! Way to do things naturally.

I wonder if he could release some indigos around to control rattlensakes?

About the OP, it's called KHARMA.

Here is a news interview with Mr. Stupid,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdULbnYylUc

What ticks me off is the guy is playing with a bull snake in the interview and they never say that it is harmless. Most uninformed will assume that snake he is hold now is deadly or possibly the one that bit him even. :taz: Nice Huh!

Yeah, what an idiot. I saw that posted somewhere else, too. Thanks for clarifying what the actual snake was he is handling in the video. I'm sure everyone will think it's a diamondback! I hate the media!