One of the first arguments I ever got into on the 'net was in a TalkCity chat room where someone asked me if I lived near Sweetwater, Texas (where the rattlesnake roundup takes place.) I said I didn't live near there, but when the person asked what I thought of it, I replied that I couldn't see much wrong with it. I was then called a savage, a planet destroyer, a hater of Mother Gaia, etc.
I've done quite a bit of research on this hunt and others and rattlesnakes in general, especially after being attacked in my Rattlesnakes in Palo Duro Canyon post. (that's the reason I hid the comments and don't allow any others on that particular one) From what I've read, the hunt DOES have a short-term affect on the rattler population, but that the snakes adapt quickly to the fluctuations in food. Reduce the rattler population, the numbers of rats, mice and rabbits go up, creating a larger food supply for the snakes, then their numbers increase in response. I've never seen anything that said rattlesnakes are anywhere close to being an endangered species.*
Yes, it would be "best" for animals if we (humans) didn't encroach upon their territory, but we always have and always will. As far as the charges of animal cruelty...well, that doesn't generate much sympathy in me. The snakes are handled roughly, but the way they're dispatched doesn't see overly cruel to me.
I've killed a few rattlers in my life, always when out hunting rabbits. I've never gone out of my way to kill them; I don't go hunting them, don't run over them in my vehicle. I figure if they leave me alone, I'll leave them alone. That said, if I found one in my yard then their life expectancy would be the exact amt. of time it would take me to find a hoe or shovel.
*After this post hit my reader and I re-read it, I thought I'd better add there is no danger, not at the present time, that Western Diamondback rattlers are endangered. I have read the Eastern type is being considered for the endangered list.
I also want to add that I'm not endorsing the roundup but I'm also not going to condemn it. I'll admit that I'm not a fan of snakes or most reptiles, so the fact that they're not "cute and cuddly" factors into my ambivalence. If taking out so many rattlers reduces the population, one would think the number of snakes caught each year would go down.
