Forget those flying ants--worried now about rattlesnakes! (move, place)

[AlisonL]

Originally Posted by ABQConvict

Burmese Pythons are from South Asia and thus should be entirely eradicated from the Everglades. Shoot, I'll even help.

If you are afraid rattlesnakes are going to kill you and your family, why stop there. There are tons of deadly threats that are way more common than rattlesnakes.

More children are killed by loose dogs in our state than poisonous snakes. Shoot all loose dogs. Drunk drivers are deadly,too. Any time you see someone swerving on the road, just pull up along side them and shoot them.

I say just walk around with a gun ready to dispatch any threat. Of course people walking around with guns are often deadly so expect a lot of incoming fire in case people don't realize that you are just out shooting snakes and dogs and rabid jackrabbits, etc.

I used to work with a herpetologist at UNM. We would go out collecting rattlesnakes. They can be hard to find. When you do find them, they are pretty easy to get into a pillow case with a 4-foot stick with a hook on the end. Out of the dozens of rattlers we collected, neither of us even came close to being bitten.

This doesn't mean I suggest that you collect them yourself, every county in the state has an office that will deal with "problem" snakes on your property. But I am suggesting that hysterical snake shooting is overkill especially in light of the real dangers that we take for granted, like driving on the highway.


ABQConvict

Geez, what a bunch of BS. I used to value your opinion, but not any more.

I am not hysterical. You need to realize I moved here from a state with NO venomous snakes, so this is all new to me.

Its times like this I wish to heck I'd never left Maine.

[ABQConvict]

Originally Posted by AlisonL

Geez, what a bunch of BS. I used to value your opinion, but not any more.

Gee. I'm sorry you feel that way based on a difference in opinion.

Originally Posted by AlisonL

I am not hysterical. You need to realize I moved here from a state with NO venomous snakes, so this is all new to me.

I didn't really think you were being hysterical, maybe a little bit over-reactive... I grew up around venomous snakes in New York. In elementary school they used to show us what copperheads and eastern diamondbacks looked like so we could avoid them in the schoolyard. Poisonous snakes are actually found in much higher concentrations and closer to human populations in the NYC suburbs than they are out here in New Mexico.

Originally Posted by AlisonL

Its times like this I wish to heck I'd never left Maine.

Come on. Now don't say that. Just because I like to shoot my mouth off on the internet is no reason to feel unwelcome in New Mexico.


ABQConvict

[Tim Rankin]

This will probably sound kind of boring, but...there's got to be a middle ground here. As the parent of a toddler, I can totally understand the reaction of another parent, esp. a mom, to protect their child. I wouldn't hesitate to kill a venomous snake if I thought my daughter was in danger.

On the other hand, indiscriminate killing of rattlesnakes is truly a waste, and there's a good argument against it on moral/religious grounds. The person who says "the only good rattlesnake is a dead rattlesnake" is susceptible to applying the same logic when dealing with other living things. The fact that someone wants to kill all rattlesnakes all the time says more about that particular individual, than it does about rattlesnakes.

[ajzjmsmom]

Originally Posted by ABQConvict

Gee. I'm sorry you feel that way based on a difference in opinion.



I didn't really think you were being hysterical, maybe a little bit over-reactive... I grew up around venomous snakes in New York. In elementary school they used to show us what copperheads and eastern diamondbacks looked like so we could avoid them in the schoolyard. Poisonous snakes are actually found in much higher concentrations and closer to human populations in the NYC suburbs than they are out here in New Mexico.



Come on. Now don't say that. Just because I like to shoot my mouth off on the internet is no reason to feel unwelcome in New Mexico.


ABQConvict

You know the strange thing is nowhere on here have I read of anyone arbitrarily shooting rattlesnakes, those that have posted perceived a threat to themselves, their family or pets and took care of the problem. Just because there are some who prefer that the snakes be relocated doesn't make them right and by the same token the person who shoots the snake to eliminate a perceived threat isn't wrong.

I also think it is irresponsible for the people who advocate relocating the snakes to advise that others do that also, it is dangerous if you do not know how to properly handle a snake and that is a bite waiting to happen. Even the professionals on TV tell people not to attempt doing that if they do not know how.

[Mike Horrell]

Frankly, I think a couple of the people taking others to task over killing poisonous
snakes around their homes are just "contrarians" trying to both irritate and to
establish (at least in their own minds) some form of "moral superiority" to the crude,
insensitive brutes who blow snakes away.

It's internet posturing at its most boring...

[ABQConvict]

Hey, I never said anything about killing snake that were threatening people, pets, or livestock. I'd shoot or bludgeon a rattler in the same situation, myself.

The mere existence of a venomous snake is not, a priori, a threat. If I found a rattler striking at myself, another person, my dog, horse, sheep, etc. I'd kill it in a heartbeat. I know from experience that you have to almost want a rattlesnake to strike at you. They typically start to rattle when you approach within 3 or 4 feet. You can generally stop right when you hear the rattle and observe the snake indefinitely without getting it to strike. Only if you harrass the snake by getting closer, prodding it with a stick, etc. will the snake strike. The first few strikes are generally feeble at that. More of a scare tactic than anything else.

If I saw a rattler snaking across my yard, I would either:

A. Leave it alone as long as it was passing through.
B. Contact an authority for removal if it seemed to be staying too close to where I and my family frequent (or remove it myself having the experience to do so).


Let me reiterate that I am not strictly against using deadly force against any animal or person that poses a significant threat to any person or animal I wish to preserve. I am against the policy of killing every member of a species on sight out of irrational fear.


ABQConvict

[mortimer]

Originally Posted by Tim Rankin

... I can totally understand the reaction of another parent, esp. a mom, to protect their child. I wouldn't hesitate to kill a venomous snake if I thought my daughter was in danger.

What if the snake wasn't venomous, but was about to bite your daughter anyway?

[desert sun]

honestly I dont see the big deal of killing a poisonous snake or non-poisonous snake, its just like killing fly's or ants or black widows.

[Tim Rankin]

Originally Posted by mortimer

What if the snake wasn't venomous, but was about to bite your daughter anyway?

Probably depends on the size of the snake, Mort. I used to catch 'em when I was 7 and was bitten many times, although not by big snakes. The venom just seriously ups the ante. I'd probably be much mored concerned about a pit bull than a non-venomous snake. Unless it's one of those Burmese pythons in Fla.

[Tim Rankin]

Originally Posted by desert sun

honestly I dont see the big deal of killing a poisonous snake or non-poisonous snake, its just like killing fly's or ants or black widows.

Train passenger in the 1800's: "Honestly, I don't see the big deal of shooting some bison from this moving train, it's just like killing flies or ants or black widows."