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RE: Claxton, GA Rattlesnake Roundup
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by pictigaster1 on March 8, 2009
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Serena. I am starting to believe you are intelligent and willing to learn.You took the time to read the profiles and your replies are not so abrasive .We here or to say most of us have kept these animals all our life.I went to my first roundup at 11 years old in sweetwater Texas.I had always wanted to go.The slaughter was a shock.That day I no longer believed the hype.Education is the only answer .I for one will remain teachable.
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RE: Claxton, GA Rattlesnake Roundup
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by earthguy on March 9, 2009
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Thank you, Serena. My hope is that you will continue to learn more, and eventually maybe even apply your knowledge by teaching others what you have learned and helping them find other, less destructive means of getting together.
As far as the the behavior of other members of this site...well I can vouch that the vast majority of them are really good people. While this topic may be new to you, it is an old, raw sore for some of us. We've been fighting it for a LONG time, and all of us get a little snippy from time to time.
I won't take up any more forum space on this topic at this time, but if you have ANY questions, or if you would like to learn more feel free to e-mail me. My e-mail is in my profile...and I'm always willing to educate. Especially if by educating we get another friend in the fight.
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RE: Claxton, GA Rattlesnake Roundup
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by SCatheris on March 9, 2009
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yeah I live on the SC-GA border basically and WTOC has coverage of this crap. It pisses me off because I've only seen one wild EDB here and they're down there killin em' like its the freakin holocaust all over again. Isn't GA pretty strict as far as keeping goes? Why would they keep doin this? It's just stupid because EDBs are a favorite of mine and I never see em around.
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RE: Claxton, GA Rattlesnake Roundup
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by Cro on March 9, 2009
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"Maybe if some of the others would go about it in a way other than referring to everyone involved as "nitwhits" and other choice words, then you could really educate people. These habits are old and only what people were taught over the years--that snakes are bad. Going about it with arrogance, harsh words and cruelty is only going to fuel a fire."
Serena, what you fail to understand is that folks here have been trying to educate people who conduct / attend the roundups for years, and years, and years.
Folks here have set up educational displays at these roundups, and have tried to provide the other side of the story.
But you are right, the people in Claxton and Whigham continue with the old habits, and continue to murder hundreds of rattlesnakes each year, just for the entertainment of it all. Most of the folks in those towns are not bright enough to want to learn. Perhaps you are the exception, as you live away from there, and probably don't drink the communtiy Kool-Aid. Good for you, if that is the case.
Other towns like Fitzgerald have turned a rattlesnake roundup into a Wild Chicken Festival. That happened 15 years ago, and it has been a great success for them. They have artists and crafts, and things for kids to do. They no longer have to use a cruel blood sport to attract people to that town.
Folks can judge for themselves. The Claxton roundup is this coming weekend, March 14 & 15.
Attend the thing, and decide for yourself.
Watch them murder hundreds of rattlesnakes.
Try to talk with the folks and see if you can make any headway trying to educate them on the damage they do by removing hundreds of rattlesnakes from the countryside.
Then let us know here next week just what kind of success you had.
Best Regards
John Z
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RE: Claxton, GA Rattlesnake Roundup
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by SCatheris on March 9, 2009
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Problem is they've been goin on for so long that the likelihood of them being outlawed is prolly slim to none. But this is a species that I think really needs to more attention to protection than it appears (to me) to be getting.
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RE: Claxton, GA Rattlesnake Roundup
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by Cro on March 9, 2009
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Justin, there is allways hope that things might change concerning rattlesnake roundups. Some towns have changed to a great spring arts and crafts fest, and music expo. We should support those towns when we can.
As far as the Georgia laws, well, all non-venomous snakes are protected, and venomous snakes are not protected. Just the opposite of Florida laws.
We have EPA laws that should prevent the use of gasoline in Gopher Tortiose burrows, however, the rednecks go out into the country and onto private lands to do the collecting, so, are rarely stopped from using it.
And the game wardens in those areas rarely get involved. That is because they live in the community, and have kids who go to the same schools as the rattlesnake "hunters" kids, and have family that go to the same churches, etc.
It would take an outsider from Game and Fish to make a difference. Someone who was not connected with the community, and who cared more about wildlife, than communtiy relations and the waves he would make by trying to enforce the laws.
The folks who put on the roundups like the Jaycees like to point out the money they get from the blood sport of murdering rattlesnakes, goes to outfits like Red Cross. I wonder if the Red Cross knows, or cares it is getting blood sport money ?
Perhaps we should all write to the Red Cross and tell them we will no longer send them donations, if they continue to accept money raised by blood sports like rattlesnake roundups ?
Perhaps the Claxton Jaycees can hire that Michael Vick fellow to conduct more pit bull fights to also raise money for the Red Cross ? Something like that would probably fit into the Claxton community quite well.
Best Regards
John Z
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RE: Claxton, GA Rattlesnake Roundup
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by Sassygurl on March 9, 2009
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Okay guys, I have a new perspective. I promise to continue to look into this and maybe even spread the word, but in return I'd hope you'd try not to make us all down here sound like a bunch of retarded inbreds. As I said, I've been to the roundup, but I don't know if I can identify what's "bad treatment" and what's not. I think a lot of roundup goers don't really know. I mean, snakes sorta look pissed off all the time to me, ya know? But now, at least I know a lot more than what I did and I'm still curious. I may even pop in occasionally with more questions. Thanks for taking all this time to reason with me.
Serena
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RE: Claxton, GA Rattlesnake Roundup
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by FSB on March 9, 2009
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Serena, you have certainly demonstrated that you are open-minded, intelligent and willing to learn and I am very impressed by your willingness to stick with us here long enough to get over our initial knee-jerk responses. Props to Josh for being an excellent and patient moderator/negotiator too.
As you have learned, roundups are a bit of a sore point in these parts, and that's because most of us know and understand rattlesnakes intimately. It's like having an odd friend whom you alone know is really this great, quietly helpful and kind person and yet gets a bad rap because he looks or dresses weird, or something. Also, just because someone, or something, is well-armed doesn't indicate that they are bad or malicious. As many have pointed out, rattlesnakes are some of our best allies in the war upon disease-spreading rodents - the real enemy - and their high-tech weaponry is more for that purpose than inflicting harm on us.
I don't think anyone here reasonably expects other people to share or even fully understand our passion for these animals - it seems to be something that is acquired through chance. When I was three years old, I grabbed a rattlesnake by the tail that was trying to get down a hole. Fortunately, snakes can be very difficult to pull out of a hole, and my father intervened before I could succeed. My much older brother had already been keeping and milking them for as long as I could remember, and I've never been able to feel anything other than admiration for their form, style and beauty.
I can understand how a "normal" person would be concerned about having eastern diamondbacks right around their house when they have young children, and I do not at all question your right to do whatever you feel necessary to protect your own, just as I do not question the right of the rattlesnake to do likewise. (If you really find eastern diamondbacks on your porch a lot, though, I'd be glad to house-swap anytime!)
Most of us are not going to get all worked up about someone killing a rattlesnake or two in their yard (it still bothers me, but I've learned to live with it!), but the roundups are something entirely different, and take an insupportable toll on wild populations of a fascinating animal that has every right to exist. The worst thing about them, in this enlightened age, is that they are basically brutish festivals which celebrate the unrestrained, wholesale slaughter of a valuable form of wildlife, and would be universally condemned (and outlawed) if any type of animal other than rattlesnakes were involved. Whether most people can see it or not, the world would be a much poorer place without rattlesnakes.
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RE: Claxton, GA Rattlesnake Roundup
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by FSB on March 10, 2009
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"Everything is dangerous, my dear fellow. If it wasn't so, life wouldn't be worth living."
~Oscar Wilde
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RE: Claxton, GA Rattlesnake Roundup
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by Ptk on March 10, 2009
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Just a short footnote:
Went to the link Cro provided at the begining of this topic (www.claxtonevanschamber.com) did the math based on their records. Todate (40years of records) 8,757 rattlesnakes have been "collected" at this one event. During which 4 years no offical record was kept.
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