Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey guys,

Research shows rattlesnake roundup events have a terrible effect on native populations. Snakes are always killed or hurt for a bunch of ignorant people to have "fun". There are currently only seven states where rattlesnake roundup events are legal, TX, OK, KS, NM, PA, AL and GA. Members from Lancaster Herpetology Society, as well as several environmental/wildlife experts across the state of PA are currently preparing to take the issue before Pennsylvania state legislature in the coming weeks or months.

We need all the support we can get to successfully bring forth legislation banning these terrible events. We are looking for letter-writers along with some other ways you can help. If you'd like to find out how you can get involved in this cause, please get in touch.

Thanks for your help everyone!
-----
Jesse Rothacker
Forgotten Friend Reptile Sanctuary
Find out how YOU can get involved in reptile rescue...
www.forgottenfriend.org

In PA, you have a very different situation than we have here in TX. Here, there is data to suggest that roundups may NOT be significantly impacting populations of Western Diamondbacks as a whole.

In PA, you are "rounding up" a species (I assume it is primarily Timbers) that is in critical danger over much of its range. It shouldn't be hard to find data to support the idea that Timbers can't sustain that sort of harvest. There has been quite a lot of research about timbers of late. Try looking there for some data (and be ready to dispute the evidence from Texas and NM that suggest harvests are sustainable). Timbers aren't atrox!
-----
Chris Harrison
San Antonio, TX

In PA, you have a very different situation than we have here in TX. Here, there is data to suggest that roundups may NOT be significantly impacting populations of Western Diamondbacks as a whole.

That's an interesting claim Chris, but I noticed you didn't bother to cite where your "data" came from. I'd be very interested to read any research that suggests populations aren't hurt by roundups - especially research not sponsored by companies who make a lot of money off these hunts. On the contraty, much of the research about Soutwest hunts indicates the opposite - that populations always pay the price for roundups. And in the southwest - where gassing is used by 90% of hunters - populations of gopher tortoises, indigo snakes, box turtles, coachwhip snakes, pine snakes, southern toads, gopher frogs, burrowing owls, raccoons, opossums, and at least 32 species of invertebrates feel the harmful effects of gasoline fires.

What is GASSING?
Gassing is a common tecnique used in rattlesnake roundups to burn snakes out of hiding. Hunters pour gasoline into an area thought to be a snake den and light the whole thing on fire. Because possible den sites often belong to other creatures (listed above) many species suffer the effects of roundups.

I'm all for responsible hunting when it serves a purpose. But going around the desert setting gasoline fires recklessly to win these silly contests is nothing less than ignorant. Data that western dback populations can sustain these "harvests" is arguable at best. Just look at the number of snakes being brought in. Even with more hunters involved the number of snakes harvested has been going down because populations are shrinking. And that's just rattlesnakes. Take a closer look at some of the other species dying out as a result of these hunts and it is really appauling. While the hunts may contribute part of their proceeds to charity, that is hardly an excuse to blatanlty defile wildlife.
-----
Jesse Rothacker
Forgotten Friend Reptile Sanctuary
Find out how YOU can get involved in reptile rescue...
www.forgottenfriend.org

That's an interesting claim Chris, but I noticed you didn't bother to cite where your "data" came from. I'd be very interested to read any research that suggests populations aren't hurt by roundups - especially research not sponsored by companies who make a lot of money off these hunts.

I don't know when the study I have heard about (I talked to one of the authors) was published. I believe it was published by Painter and Fitzgerald, but there could have been 10 other co-authors I don't know about. I'm sure any serious search could find the information.

You seem to have jumped to an erroneous conclusion here - that I, in some way, think these things are OK. I really don't care about how they affect populations. Even if they were good for populations, they are an abomination. They are extraordinarily cruel circuses that misinform the public about the nature and threat that venomous snakes present to people. I know this because I went to the Sweetwater roundup one year just so I could see it for myself.
-----
Chris Harrison
San Antonio, TX