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Posted by oldherper on April 27, 2003 at 07:01:08:
In Reply to: ....More about Rattlesnake Roundup posted by Crotalus75 on April 26, 2003 at 23:35:38:
I'm right with you on this one. I'm not a bunny hugger or tree hugger or animal rights whacko either, but these things are sheer redneck stupidity. The Eastern Diamondback (Crotalus adamanteus) is, in reality, and endangered species (even if it isn't officially listed) throughout most of it's range and threatened in the rest of it's range. In parts of it's range, it's probably actually easier to find an Eastern Indigo. It isn't getting the attention it deserves because of the fact that it is considered a pest animal officially (at least in Georgia). These events are promoting the wholesale slaughter of an animal that is already in trouble.
Years ago (probably 20 years ago),I attended the event in Opp, Alabama, just so I could see first hand what it was all about. I was against it then, too. It was a carnival atmosphere where completely untrained, inexperienced and uneducated people were handling dangerously venomous reptiles. Then they were slaughtering them and making belts, keychains, wallets, paperweights and what-have-you from them and frying and eating the meat. They have demonstrations of handling, milking and "lectures" on "rattlesnake safety", etc. Some of the information they passed on was accurate, but there was NO mention of conservation. These were all wild-caught animals, hundreds of them. Someone inevitably is bitten just about every year from what I hear. No one was bitten while I was there, but it's a miracle they weren't. People were telling me that a man was bitten on the cheek the day before I got there.
One of the big problems with stopping these events is that the communities they are held in are rural, economically depressed areas. The monies brought in by these events are a big part of the annual revenue. The legislators from these areas are not going to vote for legislation to stop them because the depend on that constituency to get re-elected. Plus they have some pretty big-name sponsors at some of the events, such as Anhauser Busch.
The methods they use for collecting the animals are illegal. They have to depend on using gasoline to flush them out of Gopher tortoise burrows. The gasoline has a devastating effect on all species using the burrows, including the tortoises themselves and Indigo Snakes, which ARE listed on the Endangered Species List of 1973. Gopher Tortoises are protected by state laws throughout their range.
My own fiels observations would indicate that the populations of Eastern Diamondbacks is less that 10% of what it was 30 years ago. I'm finding far fewer of them, but what's more disturbing to me is that the ratio of juveniles to adults observed is even less. I used to find about 3 juveniles (under 3 years old) to every 5 adults. Now it's more like 1 juvenile to every 5 adults. This would indicate to me that the adults are getting so spread apart that they aren't effectively locating each other during breeding season. That, coupled with the fact that there are so few to begin with now, presents a pretty bleak outlook, in my opinion, for the species. One piece of property that I hunt on could be counted on as recently as 10 years ago to produce 4 or 5 Eastern Diamondbacks per year and maybe 6 Gopher Tortoises. The total size of the area is maybe 2,000 acres. In the past 3 years, I have found 1 adult Eastern Diamondback and NO Gopher Tortoises. There are some parts of it's range where it is holding it's own due to STRICT protection, notably Eglin Air Force Base. If something isn't done, that could end up being the only places they occur in the wild.
There's no reason that these events can't be converted to something more along the lines of the Santa Fe, Florida event. There, about a dozen captive animals are used for educational presentations and are unharmed. If they can't be converted to something like that, then they MUST be stopped entirely before we decimate the populations of both the Gopher Tortoises and Eastern Diamondbacks (as well as other dependent species) to the point that there is no saving them.
:Even though the paper I am writing is a non-biased documentation, I want to make it clear to everyone that I am completely AGAINST rattlesnake roundups. I am a Zoology undergrad, not an animal rights activist or bunny hugging hippie. I am compiling this information, because I want to get the straight facts about these roundups to the press, the legislature and the general public. I would like to get as many herpetologists, DVM's and herpetoculturists together as possible to make a UNITED effort to petition against the environmentally dangerous practices of these non-sustainable snake harvests. I realise that many have tried and failed, but I am determined to take this all the way. Some Rattlesnake roundups have been turned into more environmentally friendly festivals in the past and there is no reason why ALL roundups couldn't be required to follow suit. If any of you would like to help feel free to e-mail me directly at Crotalus75@yahoo.com
