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Venom - Rattlesnakes & ManThousands of snakes are tortured and slaughtered each year, not because they are cruel, not because they are a threat to mankind, but because of what they are; simply snakes. The truth about Rattlesnake Roundups, the importance of rattlesnakes, and how their probable demise will impact mankind.
Years ago, there were individuals who would slay another man due to the color of his/her skin. Today, we define that enactment as ignorance. Though The Family of Man has made huge strides over the last century, what about man's relationship with animals? So many species continue to become endangered - to the point of extinction, due to man's ignorance. One of the most misrepresented, and misunderstood, is the snake.
Rattlesnake Roundups - What your local news stations won't tell you during their featured Rattlesnake Roundup coverage: One method used for collecting rattlesnakes at roundups is to spray gasoline into a potential den of rattlesnakes, then patiently wait until the snakes emerge. This method forces the denned animal to either emerge or asphyxiate from the fumes. However, not only snakes inhabit these cozy wilderness dens; other important species that may be sheltered beneath include frogs, rabbits, possums, armadillos, lizards and harmless snakes. Other methods include ‘fishing’ snakes out of their homes, then keeping them in small cages for as long as two years before the roundup - without food and without water. At ‘the show’ they are sometimes tortured by being skinned alive, burned or whipped in front of the audience. One of the many cruel contests at a roundup is termed as a ‘crushing contest’ where competition counts how many ‘stomps’ it takes to kill a snake. Youngsters are encouraged to participate in these rattlesnake roundups, the adults literally placing these young lives in danger! Can you imagine what the effect of seeing a snake skinned alive has on a child? Violent cartoon characters receive more deterrent direction. So, why do the people that participate in the roundups feel the need to torture and slaughter these important members of our ecosystem? Are they afraid of the snakes? On the whole, the American population has been schooled since birth against the horrors of the venomous rattlesnake. You’d think these snakes were banging on neighborhood front doors for action! However, the fact of the matter is that snakes will make every effort to avoid a confrontation with a human. Only in the embers of fear and self-defense will they strike. Snakes have been intertwined with religion since the beginning of time. The projected illusion envisions the snake as a sly, evil and cunning creature, which is usually associated with the devil. Maybe the people involved in the roundups don’t understand snakes and their importance of their part in our world. Do they not realize that the depletion of snakes from the ecosystem has a detrimental effect on our environment? The rat and mice populations increase dramatically as does the diseases that these animals carry when snakes become an unbalanced factor. It is also difficult to identify poisonous snakes. The general consensus seems to be that if you aren’t certain about the type of snake you are dealing with, then kill it! Snakes have the ability of camouflage down to a fine art. Most of the bites occurring in rural and forested areas are attributed to hikers and campers accidentally stepping on a snake due to its camouflaged stance. Some will profess that the roundups are necessary to collect venom for making anti-venom. However, this mode of venom collection is not generally accepted due to the cruelty inflicted on the snakes. In addition, a large number of snakebites occur at the roundups, which ironically contributes to the increase in statistics of rattlesnake bites! In other words, without the roundups there’d be a lot less demand for anti-venom, and roundups are one of the major sources for rattlesnake bites! Approximately 8,000 people experience bites by venomous snakes annually in United States. Of these thousands of bites, about a dozen prove fatal. By comparison, over one hundred people die annually from bee stings and over one hundred and fifty by lightning. In closing, the rattlesnake should be respected due to its mode of defense and its vital necessity in our world, our environment and our fragile ecosystem. With all opinions aside, the demise of the Rattlesnake Roundups do have an end in sight. The roundups alone are depleting the rattlesnake population. Nature has a way of taking care of itself. Perhaps when this species becomes extinct, even the people that loved to hate them will miss them. Sometimes, we don't know what we have until its gone forever. Click Here to Return to American Outback |
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