Sad 3rd Party Herping

[guidofatherof5]

Yesterday I received an email from a good friend. He was out herping in the residential areas of Des Moines Iowa.
He reported finding 24 dead Plains garter snakes. Apparently killed by property owners. He also found 34 alive and well snakes.
This news of the dead snakes disturbed me as he wasn't herping a huge area.
Seems the plight of the snakes in his town is no better than in mine.
I've made some big gains in my neighborhood switching people over to not killing them but.....
Last week I found a large female(probably gravid) dead in the street in front of my residence. It was obvious the snake had been killed and thrown there.
I came to find out that the elderly lady across the street had gotten some yard work help from her daughter, who doesn't like snakes.
It's such a shame that these snakes are killed without a second thought.
I wish more people knew what a nice animal they were killing.

[RdubSnider]

That's very sad Steve. Last fall while I was out working I caught this group of teenagers beating a small eastern with sticks. It was to late for the little Guy. Unfortunately I'm not sure that the nasty and cruel nature of some people will ever change

[ssssnakeluvr]

thats sad..... I got a call from the reptile rescue here night before last..he was out on a call... bunch of wanderings came out of an area, possible den inder sidewalk. kids called police and were told to kill them! he told the kids it was a $750 fine for each snake they killed! got their attention and they wont do it again!

[RedSidedSPR]

Snakes are so misunderstood. It's insane.

[Sonya610]

So odd that here in Georgia animals are nothing, as in beat/kill a dog in order to show humans are superior.

Yet at the same time harming ANY native non-venomous reptiles is a crime. Wish I had known that 3 years ago when a boss beat a black racer to death in the parking lot, I mentioned "beautiful snake in the bushes" and then things turned ugly (I didn't know until after). I quit, that was the last straw, but if I had known the law I would have called the authorities.

[Jeff B]

It's sad from a conservation stand point, that kind of behavior can completely wipe out pockets or sub-populations, and in some cases even a small isolated sub-species or species. It's one thing to manage an overpopulated game species like snow geese or whitetail deer, where there are huge fiscal, and enviromental, aggricultual, and other finacial impacts, and at the same time providing sport and providing food on the table, as well as donating meals for the hugry, but to just kill out of fear or pre-concenved emotions or judments is just weak mindedness that needs intervention.

[ConcinusMan]

I have personally seen much loss in the past 25 years in my county. The last remaining population of ringneck snakes was wiped out in the late 1980's. It's a transit center now and there's no habitat left. Many places that used to be teeming with garter snakes, rubber boas, and racers are now shopping centers and parking lots.

[ssssnakeluvr]

I've always said everything on the planet has a purpose (although I haven't figured out a good purpose for mosquitos, other than irritate us). ours is to mess up the planet, and boy are we good at it!

[Didymus20X6]

Hey Steve:

Do you think that one left in front of your house was meant as some sort of message?

[RedSidedSPR]

Time for your ancient cop skills:D

[guidofatherof5]

Hey Steve:

Do you think that one left in front of your house was meant as some sort of message?

Not at all.
It was just someone who hates all snakes.:mad:

[d_virginiana]

Some people's attitudes toward snakes just drive me crazy! And the worst part is, a lot of the time people justify it by saying that they're scared of them (because apparently that logically leads to it being okay to kill them?)..

On the bright side, due to me having several talks with her over the past year, a few days ago my grandmother who is deathly afraid of snakes spent two hours getting a six foot black snake wrapped around a shovel and taking it to the woods to avoid hitting it with her car. It's good to know that you can change some peoples' attitudes toward snakes, even though so many still hate them for no real reason...

[guidofatherof5]

I feel like a newspaper reporter. This would be so much easier if MARK would just join the forum hint, hint.

Mark reported siting 91 radixes yesterday. Catching and releasing most.
Except for two female azanthic T. radix which were beautiful.
They appeared to be born last Fall.
He only reported see a couple dead snakes.
This was Eastern Nebr. Herping.

Hoping you join the forum;)

[Ryachanira]

What a sad story. I have had SO many people tell me they would killed Silv had they found him in their garage... Many go so far as to detail methods (stomping on, cutting off head, slicing in two in the middle). I just can't even believe it. And these are coming from some of the sweetest people - my own grand mother! They tell me it is no different than ne killing spiders in my house, which makes me feel a bit bad but I think it is a little different. Maybe my stories about Silv will at least make them think twice if they encounter a snake in the future..

[charles parenteau]

Very sorry to hear that Steve !!