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Rattlesnake Roundup History
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by bush_viper17 on March 24, 2005
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Rattlesnake roundups date back to 1680. Men were employed at two shillings a day to kill rattlesnakes in Massachussetts. This method of extermination developed until, by 1740,a day was set aside each year for a general snake hunt. Men would gather at rattlesnake dens and kill as many snakes as possible. These early roundups were carried out with the purpose of eliminating rattlesnakes in areas where settlers were attempting to make their land safe for themselves,their children and their livestock.
As communities grew, the hunts became more and more competitive. Prizes were awarded to the hunter who killed the most snakes.
One hunt in Iowa in 1849 describes how two men killed 90 rattlesnakes each in one hour and a half. The total killed that year was 3750.
The roundups turned into popular sports, even in areas where rattlesnakes presented little or no danger to human life or livestock. The hunt turned into a big spectacle. People would bring picnics and casually attend the events.
Civic authorities and charities often sponsered the events to raise money and to provide entertainment.
The crowd could witness exhibitions of rattlesnakes being handled,afterwards the snakes were killed and the skins,meat,head, etc were sold.
Rattlesnake roundups are still being carried out in several states, the most famous is the Sweetwater,Texas roundup where 70,773 were reported to have been killed over a 16-year period.
751 timber rattlesnakes killed over a 9 year period at the Morris Snakehunt,Pennsylvania.
3,205 in 17 years at the Keystone Reptile Club,in Pennsylvania. Rattlesnake roundups still take place in Alabama,Georgia,Florida,Texas,and Oklahoma.
In the early years, rattlesnake roundups coincided with the most productive time of year,just after they had come out of hibernation but before they spread out. Later,dynamiting the dens took place. Currently,the common method is to pour gasonine into the dens and gopher tortoise burrows. The gasoline drives out the snakes. THis is hideous because the rattlesnakes often stay in the burrows and die,along with a wide variety of wildlife that share the same hideout.
The numbers you see are not current, they are previous to 1995. The number of killings are still rising. I bet Sweetwater is now past the 100,000 mark. Think of how many that actually is. It almost hurts your brain. Humans are killing off animals at an astonishing rate. These animals have roamed the earth freely for millions of years and all of a sudden the have boundaries. We cannot expect animals to know what "our" private space is. The african elephants are a good example. They are the kings of the jungles and savannahs, they are out looking for a meal and stumble upon farming land and then gets killed or poisoned. The cheetahs,the whales,the birds of prey,the primates,the dolphins,the sharks,the snakes,every wild animal species has been declining. Look at the tasmanian tiger,the dodo bird,etc. Imagine one day when we read history books and it says, "Eastern diamondback rattlesnake-Crotalus adamenteus, the largest rattlesnake in the world, extinct in the wild since 2053. The last remaining C. adamenteus is a breeding pair held in a private collection at a serpentarium. It blows my mind. Every one of us can help. It starts with getting the facts and then education. Every person we reach will matter whether its a young child or a prison inmate. The bulldozers are a big problem, but if we teach everyone the importance of wildlife and their habitat, who will want to destroy it? If we educate people about pollution and show them better ways to do away with trash, who will want to pollute? Even if in your whole life you can just reach one person, that person is going to go tell another person and start a chain reaction. The time has come for us to step up and intervene, the time has come for a change. We as the human species have the power of understanding and the tools to do what needs to be done. Conservation is the key, education is the answer.
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RE: Rattlesnake Roundup History
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by Crotalus_Catcher on March 24, 2005
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BUDDY! WELL SPOKEN! Jermey, well spoken and researched, you definatly raised my opinion of your character and knowledge. Good move, and very inciteful information. I didn't know a lot of what you posted. Keep up the good work!
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RE: Rattlesnake Roundup History
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by marc on March 24, 2005
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Here is a link to an article that ran in the March issue of National Geographic magazine. According to this article, even though the numbers harvested continue to climb each year, there's a huge possibility that this is taking place because there are now more people than ever participating in the rounding up of the snakes and they're having to travel further and further in order produce the snakes. NG estimated that in 2003, the roundup in Sweetwater took 18,000 snakes out of the environment in one weekend. That has to be hurting the environment and the bottom line is that nobody really knows because there is just no data to prove either way.
They also go on to say how the roundup is more to abuse and exploit the animals than helping to educate people.
Marc
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RE: Rattlesnake Roundup History
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by marc on March 24, 2005
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By the way, that was March 2003 issue and not the current issue. Here's the link that I forgot too.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/01/0130_030130_snakeroundup.html
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RE: Rattlesnake Roundup History
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by bush_viper17 on March 24, 2005
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http://www.hsus.org/wildlife/issues_facing_wildlife/rattlesnake_roundups/the_truth_behind_rattlesnake_roundups/
Check this out. It is definetly hurting the population, there is no denying it. I will move something that Karl wrote on a previous post right here, because I think it is something that we all should read.
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RE: Rattlesnake Roundup History
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by bush_viper17 on March 24, 2005
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RE: roundup Reply
by Buzztail1 on March 24, 2005 Mail this to a friend!
Five years ago Fitzgerald, Georgia gave in to GA DNR's suggestions to change their Rattlesnake Roundup to some other type of festival. March 19 th was the 5th Annual Fitzgerald Wild Chicken Festival in celebration of the wild descendants of the Burmese Jungle Fowl that are quite common in the town.
When they switched over to the festival from the roundup, they asked DNR representatives to please make sure that some of the herp enthusiasts who had given them so much grief over the years concerning their roundup would come and display snakes since they are such a good crowd draw.
It has been an uphill battle ever since and at a couple of the festivals, I have personally heard people grumbling over how few people come and how little money is brought in since they don't have the rattlesnakes any more. Very few of those self righteous herpers are ever willing to give up the one day it would take to go and display snakes for the interested crowd. The first time I was asked, it was difficult. I had to cancel plans to attend a Navy Ball and find snakes to display (just the ones I didn't already have - but I already wrote that story) and drive the two hours to Fitzgerald. There was no-one there to represent the SHHS other than The Boss and I. One other member showed up in a different capacity but the promoter was very glad to have us. Last year I was stationed in Washington state and unable to make it. This year The Boss and I met up there with Chad Minter and Brian W. Smith. The SHHS was well represented and we certainly drew a crowd.
My point in all of this is that it is very easy to sit in our homes at our keyboards and complain about what other people are doing to the environment, etc. All too often when people are willing to try to change things, we don't support them and the others, who certainly watch, ask themselves "Why should we change? They did and now look, they are losing money." It is not just about stopping the roundups. It is also about helping the towns to find another way to make the money that the roundups brought in.
This year, the promoter of the Wild Chicken Festival told us that they are now making more money than they were as a roundup town. I hope it stays that way. Once I get back to GA on a more permanent basis, I plan to make their festival an annual display on my agenda. Just one more way to educate the public and support the stopping of roundups.
Everyone needs to ask themselves: "What am I doing to stop roundups?" Not "What is everyone else doing to stop roundups?"
Karl
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RE: Rattlesnake Roundup History
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by spidersnake on April 4, 2005
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Hey Jeremy i was very impressed by your post about Rattlesnake Roundup History. And i was wondering If you would let me put it on my website.I am needing to add a new page any way. Sincerely,
Jimmy
My website is
http://sidistic109.tripod.com
if you get this message post it on this forum because i cant access my e-mail address at yahoo.thanks
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