">>Are you going to use a four foot long pith? Or are you going to pin the snake down, restrain it by the neck and then stick your pith in it’s brain? From what I recall in basic biology class, the pith is used to keep the animal alive so that when you dissect, you can see the heart still beating. They did say pith and scramble the brains though, didn’t they?

Yes, pithing does scramble the brains. That's the point. No brain = no suffering. So what's wrong with it?

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>>What's wrong with cooling?

Hey, you're the one who was complaining about the expense of an *injection*. A refrigerator costs a lot more than a pithing tool -- and it's harder to take with you out into the field, too. There's nothing all that wrong with cooling -- but pithing is a lot more portable."



What is wrong with pithing, and maybe beheading depending on the individual, is that it may not be "humane" for the person doing the pithing. Cooling would be preferred in my experience, as long as the animal can be placed into the freezer (size?), which is how I've done it before when I did my shelter work with reptiles. Pithing just may not be for everyone.

Also, the drugs used for lethal injections maybe controlled substances and may require a DVM to be involved, not sure how Florida does it or what they are using. I would think the average trapper could find a freezer before they can gain access to sodium pentobarbital, which is a schedule II barbiturate, if that is what they are using.

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