Very nice essay Melanie! I believe that is our duty as snake enthusiasts to educate the common public as to the benefits of snakes both on the environment and on a person's well-being when the snakes are kept as pets. As you said there are many misconceptions when it comes to the behavior, phisiology and just the general nature of snakes. Could you imagine how many rats, mice, or other "vermin" there would be running around if there were no snakes?!?! Living in Alabama, I hear stories all too often about how snakes will chase you, or roll up in the shape of a wheel and roll down hills, or the infamous "glass snake" which can be broken into pieces by touch and then "puts itself back together again"!! It's preposterous!! I mean, come on, this is the 21st century not the middle ages!! A snake that can break into pieces and (as long as none of the pieces gets lost) put itself back together again and slither away! What a crock! Not to mention the Rattlesnake Round-up they have annually in Opp, Alabama where literally thousands of rattlesnakes are herded together, molested and killed for no reason other than public misconception and stupidity. Could you imagine the public backlash there would be if we herded up thousands of small breed dogs and slaughtered them just for the pure fact that they can bite people?!?! Ok, I'm rambling again...But you get my point...
Edit: It is called the Rattlesnake Rodeo not Round-up and here's a link if anyone's interested... http://rattlesnakerodeo.com/
This is some of the "merchandise" that can be purchased there... One word... Exploitation
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