Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi everyone,

Went to SW Ohio today (Sunday) and didn't find a whole lot but still had better luck than most of my trips. I found a couple of young northern water snakes and some turtle that was unfortunately too far away for me to identify properly.

One water snake was just peeping it's head out to get a view, I was actually quite surprised that it allowed me to approach so closely. The other however, that I am unforunately holding is dead. There was a moron that was fishing and turning the water snakes up, then chucking rocks at them. He had killed this one, so I thought that I would get a picture of it to show on my upcoming website what the works of humans can do to species of reptiles.

Well I hope you like the pics.

Chris

Although it's not a good idea and I don't condone it...I'd have probably ended up in fisticuffs if I saw that guy looking for snakes and killing them.

I assume that's against the law...you can't take them so I suppose you can't kill them...I'm going to look into that...

OH div of wildlife, unfort...the guy wasn't technically breaking the law!

There are specifications and permits needed to collect the animals, but killing them isn't regulated.

Something needs to be done about that.

Yeah I was really close to sticking my snake hook up his ass. That really pissed me off. I wasnt going to start a fight about it, because I knew that it would be a loose/loose situation. I would have only ended up with bloody knuckles (granted that I win the fight) and been thrown in jail with no justification for my actions. Unfortunately, just another thing that I have to eat. I agree that something needs to be done about that law. It's ridiculous. We can't keep them in captivity but you can simply kill them for no reason. Sickening!

Chris

>>OH div of wildlife, unfort...the guy wasn't technically breaking the law!
>>
>>There are specifications and permits needed to collect the animals, but killing them isn't regulated.
>>
>>Something needs to be done about that.

I agree and unfortunately this will probably never happen. Even if by some miracle it were outlawed, there would be no way to police it... People can always saw they thought it was a copperhead and their life was in danger - self defense of course! Even now I bet there are a number of timbers and massassaugas killed every year out of self defense in Ohio. As long as the person doesn't parade it around, I doubt anything comes of it.

Remember it is also legal to bulldoze snake dens and habitat, killing hundreds, but we have to jump through hoops to keep one or two. Well, its not that hard, but you get my point

Jason

I agree 100%, this state is simply ridiculuous. I am moving to florida!! No, that wouldnt be the way to go about it either, because then there are less people to fight against it. All we can really do is just wish.

Chris

>>I agree and unfortunately this will probably never happen. Even if by some miracle it were outlawed, there would be no way to police it... People can always saw they thought it was a copperhead and their life was in danger - self defense of course! Even now I bet there are a number of timbers and massassaugas killed every year out of self defense in Ohio. As long as the person doesn't parade it around, I doubt anything comes of it.
>>
>>Remember it is also legal to bulldoze snake dens and habitat, killing hundreds, but we have to jump through hoops to keep one or two. Well, its not that hard, but you get my point
>>
>>Jason

I think going out of our way to save one or 2 is more than that...it's trying to change the attitude of the people in the process...which is an ongoing process. But, I think (know)there a lot more tolerant people in todays generation than the last.

The kind of person that would intentionally go in the wild looking for snakes to kill just needs to be removed from the gene pool. That should be a captial offense.

see ya in a couple hours