The next thing I must say is that it sounds like the back woods inbred rednecks have now been employed by the the texas parks and wildlife dept. They will not see a problem til it's too late. I,ll be writing them this evening and thank you very much for your time spent,we'll talk later.



Actually, the regs here in TX were re-written after the TPWD study period and RAISED the bag limit on rattlers (at least atrox, anyway). It's not a bunch of "back woods inbred rednecks" at TPWD, but rather people who still support the idea of consumptive public utilization of a natural resource, provided it's sustainable (and it is--I do snake calls for my local herp society and we get plenty of atrox, even in "urban" areas). 20,000 snakes sounds like a lot, until you take into account take levels for other managed wildlife (e.g. deer), and the sheer land area TX encompasses.



The real problem with the roundups is the dubious utility of venom milking (hygienic concerns), the possibility of burrows being gassed to obtain the snakes (killing other wildlife in the process), and the importation of other nonlocal rattler species, including from other states. 20,000 rattlers are reported being taken--probably just as many are hit by cars in TX annually.



Just another side of the argument--I'm not coming out in support of the roundups, but there are other viewpoints to consider.
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Chris McMartin

www.mcmartinville.com

I'm Not a Herpetologist, but I Play One on the Internet

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