I would not kill a snake if I found one in my yard (though I rarely do). My children are taught to stay away from all animals that they are not familiar with (even a neighbors dog) without asking. I was taught that if you don't do what you are told, there are consequences and if that consequence is getting bit by animal I should not have been near, maybe I'll learn. Being over-protective of our children is not going to teach them how to live in the real world. We are told by the powers that be in my state that there are no venomous snakes here, but I have heard several accounts of sightings in limited areas. I have caught several snakes at different places where I have worked without knowing what the snake is because leaving it there would have meant someone else would kill it. These snakes I just moved in a bucket to a more wooded, less traveled area of the property for their protection. If you really want the general public to be more tolerant of all species of animals, you can't say, "but that one was threatening me or my family". We, as herpers (and animal lovers), have the duty to educate ourselves (as well as the general public) on the best ways to deal with that threatening native species that does not involve death to the animal. If our fear of the possible threat makes it okay for us to kill, then anyone that perceives a threat from any animal should have the right to destroy it. Just my opinion. I am not a PETA supporter and feel that the AR groups out there are more of a threat to animals than a help, but I do feel killing creatures that we feel threatened by is wrong.
Not trying to be rude, but if us newbies don't read/search through old posts for info before asking a question, people will respond to our questions with "why don't you try searching for that info" but if we do search and bring up an old post like this, there is always a comment about it being an old post.Originally Posted by DutchHerp
Sheesh, sucks to be a newbie trying to educate yourself.
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