Here are links to the representatives that serve both Sweetwater & Freer:



Susan King (Nolan & Taylor Co): www.house.state.tx.us/members/email.php?dist=71&rep=susan.king



Ryan Guillen (Duval Co and others): www.house.state.tx.us/members/email.php?dist=31&rep=ryan.guillen



I can't support Rattlesnake Round Ups with my THS hat on, so the message I sent was this:



"I am writing today to express my concerns regarding HB 2414, a bill pertaining to hunting from a public right of way. At first glance, this bill appears to be an appropriate measure – certainly it is inappropriate to hunt with a firearm from a public roadway! In fact, it is already illegal to hunt game animals or to fire a gun along a public roadway. What this legislation is aimed squarely at is the collection of nongame animals, particular reptiles, from the roadways of Texas.



As the representative of Sweetwater, TX, home of one of the largest rattlesnake round ups in the world, I am sure that this bill is not one that you would support. Although some of the rattlesnakes collected for the Sweetwater round up come from large ranches, many also are collected from roadways. It is not uncommon to see 20 our 30 rattlesnakes per night on some back country roads in Texas, so the method of cruising the highways or county roads slowly at night is often employed to collect snakes for the round up. Furthermore, some dens are located in right of ways and on road cuts, and easily accessible site of collection. This bill would make both of these activities illegal, and cause fewer snakes to be brought in to the Sweetwater round up. In turn, this would detract from the revenue generated by the round up, and would potentially result in a financial hardship for the community.



Additionally, the potential impact of this legislation on ranchers must be considered. Remember that small county roads also constitute public right of ways. Under this legislation, a rancher with free-ranging cattle grazing alongside a public right of way would be prohibited from capturing or killing nuisance animals (e.g. coyotes or rattlesnakes) near his livestock as they graze alongside these county roads.



I urge you to do everything in your power to defeat this bill when it comes up for a vote on the floor of the House. It is an unneeded and unduly restrictive piece of legislation.



Sincerely,

Troy Hibbitts"

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• Sweetwater & Freer - troy h, Fri Apr 13 13:25:40 2007