I don't particularly like round-ups not because I am opposed to hunting snakes but because of the way it is done. From my perspective its not a question of hypocrisy, but rather is concern about the sustainability round-ups and the long term health of rattlesnake populations.

The few studies I have seen have found both a decrease in the number and average size of snakes brought into round-ups. Given that larger females tend to be those that produce the largest clutches the consequences of the decrease is size is obvious. Given that these populations tend to be centered around "dens" the decrease in population size can lead to inbreeding depression. All this does not mean you can't have sustainable round-ups however, it just means that stocks need to be better managed like we managed fisheries lest we see rattlers go the way of the passenger pigeon.

Best,
Vinny
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“There is a grandeur in this view of life, with its several powers, having been originally breathed into a few forms or into one; and that whilst this planet has gone on cycling according to the fixed laws of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being, evolved.” -C. Darwin, 1859

Natural Selection Reptiles

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