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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsTexas rattlesnake roundup: Why some people kill snakes for sport
In the small town of Sweetwater, Texas, thousands of rattlesnakes are killed in front of paying customers. Is it a smart revenue strategy or unnecessary animal abuse?http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/USA-Update/2016/0313/Texas-rattlesnake-roundup-Why-some-people-kill-snakes-for-sport
"Each year in Sweetwater, Texas, over 30,000 visitors come to the rural town from near and far to see thousands of rattlesnakes.
Led by the citys Junior Chamber of Commerce, referred to as the "Jaycees," Sweetwaters annual Worlds Largest Rattlesnake Roundup, ends Sunday. At the roundup, fans watch the rattlesnakes slither together in a pit before handlers behead and skin the animals. And its not all watching: Visitors can participate by skinning the animals and making handprints on a wall with the snakes blood.
The Jaycees say the event is necessary to curb overpopulation, protect human safety, and keep local livestock alive.
...
David Steen, an amphibian and reptiles biologist at Auburn University, tells The Washington Post that rattlesnakes typically bite only those who deliberately interfere with the snakes, such as professional exterminators and drunk people. Thus, the "human safety" argument is baseless.
..."
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WTF?
joeybee12
(56,177 posts)HuckleB
(35,773 posts)joeybee12
(56,177 posts)HuckleB
(35,773 posts)Classic.
maxsolomon
(33,432 posts)Like the ranchers that want Bison shot if they leave Yellowstone, because they might have Brucellosis.
why not vaccinate the Bison? no, that'd take the fun of killing out of it.
Xolodno
(6,406 posts)...just don't want them competing for grazing land, particularly on government owned grazing land they pay a minuscule fee for. Plus the Brucellosis story is BS. Deer and elk have it to.
As for the snakes...they are part of the ecosystem. They got rid of wolves in Yellowstone thinking them a nuisance. The elk population exploded to unhealthy levels. Since being reintroduced, they have been culling them off naturally...add to that, vegetation along the rivers and streams has also returned as the Elk don't tarry long enough to devour everything.
Wiping out the snakes would explode the rodent population....something I'm sure they aren't thinking about. If they want to eliminate snakes....get rid of the pythons in the everglades.
HuckleB
(35,773 posts)Xolodno
(6,406 posts)I wouldn't expect it to be cut and dry, its going to take decades to restore the balance.
Way back when I was in college taking Environmental Economics, we discussed the removal of the dam at Hetch Hetchy. Smaller dams down stream would be more effective at generating electricity and water storage. Of course, restoring the Hetch Hetchy valley probably wouldn't be completed in our life time.
But none the less, restoring natural areas and wildlife, helps the eco-system and makes it valuable again. Not too mention, helps out against our carbon foot print.
Major Nikon
(36,827 posts)They catch the snakes throughout the year and release them just prior to the "roundup". He showed me a crate where they kept hundreds of them.
Many years ago I worked on a mountain in El Paso that had quite a few rattlesnakes. During the spring and fall they would crawl out from under our buildings and sun themselves. They were very easy to avoid because they would let you know when you were near them.
I don't give a fuck about their "tradition". The people who do this are just assholes.
HuckleB
(35,773 posts)AngryAmish
(25,704 posts)Loved that book.
petronius
(26,606 posts)The population/safety argument is almost certainly bullshit, and the environmental impact is likely negative (at best neutral, I'd guess).
As far as calling it abusive, it doesn't too different in comparison to how we treat other livestock: kept in crowded cages and pens followed by beheading (or something similar). I've never been there so I can't make a judgement, but if there's an acceptable level of humane treatment for chickens et al, then I conclude the same exists for snakes; these people may achieve that. Probably not, but maybe.
Paying to participate, however, seems a bit high on the jackass scale (especially the bloody hand-print bit): slaughterhouse tourism is definitely creepy. But if there's a market for it, maybe I'll send a suggestion to our local abbatoir...
hatrack
(59,594 posts)Fucking cretins.