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View Poll Results: Do you feel rattlesnake hunting is a legitimate form of hunting.
Yes 63 75.00%
No 8 9.52%
On the fence need more info 13 15.48%
Voters: 84. You may not vote on this poll

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Old December 7, 2012, 05:56 PM   #1
rickyrick
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Do you feel that Rattlesnake hunting is legitimate hunting?

Yes, it's mostly done for profit. It is entirely legal in Texas and regulated.

It is coming under more frequent attacks by animal rights activists and they are trying hard to get it banned.

I feel that it's perfectly within the hunters and property owners rights to continue hunting them.
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Old December 7, 2012, 06:05 PM   #2
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I've killed a few pigmys out at my folks place...with a shovel while cutting wood....and after nearly having a stroke when they first started to rattle. Don't see the big deal....they'er a nightmare if you run into one on horseback I say if you see one on a fence line or around the barn, shoot it. Actively hunting them?...not for me, but I don't really care either way if someone else does
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Old December 7, 2012, 06:21 PM   #3
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Sure. Why not?

I'm not a fan of arbitrarily killing any snake that comes around (I'd rather have snakes than rodents), but if you want to hunt rattlers... go for it.
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Old December 7, 2012, 06:35 PM   #4
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I think they are protected in Pa., but they still have some kind of roundup. I know people that have snake problems in their old farm houses. I think you should be able to do something about it before they get in.
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Old December 7, 2012, 06:41 PM   #5
Art Eatman
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Just offhand, I "sorta" feel that the rattlesnake roundups probably take more than is good. Local area balance-of-nature thing.

Out in the pasture, I won't bother a rattler. Around the house? "Sayonara, rattle-worm."
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Old December 7, 2012, 07:17 PM   #6
Rockhanger
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Don't do it in Ohio Or you will go to jail.
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Old December 7, 2012, 07:24 PM   #7
cdmckane
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The only good snake is a dead snake. Any snake, any time. I'll set traps for rodents, thank you.

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Old December 7, 2012, 07:27 PM   #8
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Absotively

Have only had one occasion to be involved in one and it was a good time. I think I enjoyed eating them more than hunting them. ...

Be Safe !!!
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Old December 7, 2012, 07:43 PM   #9
rickyrick
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I'm mainly concerned with western diamondbacks in Texas, where hunting them is legal.

Animal rights activists are having a field day. They are spreading false facts and half-truths and gaining significant ground. After snakes, what's the next sport to get petitioned to be banned?
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Old December 7, 2012, 07:44 PM   #10
Brian Pfleuger
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I'm not sure exactly what you have in mind with the word "legitimate" but there's no moral difference in hunting any kind of animal over another.

The moral question is in destruction of species. So long as there's balance, any animal is huntable.

Guerilla, snow leopards, tigers, chimpanzee, rattle snakes, Dodo birds, passenger pigeons... take your pick.

The trouble is with extermination, not hunting.
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Old December 7, 2012, 08:10 PM   #11
rickyrick
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They are hunted mostly for profit. Just like trappers of old. There are also yearly roundups attempting to control their numbers. The snakes in question are far from being endangered.
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Old December 7, 2012, 08:12 PM   #12
buck460XVR
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Snakes, since the Garden of Eden, have had a negative image to man. Most folks either run scared like a little girl from them or kill them on sight. Regardless of species. While I can see the monetary motivation for hunting them, anytime money is involved, common sense, ethics and concern for the whole ecosystem is often replaced with greed. I have no problem with hunting them, as any other predator species, as long as it is done with the idea of safety of humans and their domestic animals in the habitat and population control. Snakes generally do more good than harm by controlling rodent and other small nuisance animals, especially when other predators like coyotes/foxes have been eliminated. Surplus populations of snakes generally means these nuisance/undesirable animals are over-abundant also. In Wisconsin, both native species of Rattlesnakes are protected by law.
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Old December 7, 2012, 08:46 PM   #13
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"The only good snake is a dead snake. Any snake, any time"

I will kill any rattlesnake I find around my home, but any other snake, no way.
King snakes are so very beautiful and useful.
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Old December 7, 2012, 10:03 PM   #14
teeroux
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Quote:
They are hunted mostly for profit. Just like trappers of old. There are also yearly roundups attempting to control their numbers. The snakes in question are far from being endangered.
Exactly there is never a shortage of snakes for the roundups and the same areas are hunted every year. Snakes reproduce almost like wild hogs.
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Old December 8, 2012, 12:49 AM   #15
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We don't seem to be running out of them. One of my guys caught one on a glueboard. In a house. In Irvine, California.
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Old December 8, 2012, 09:31 AM   #16
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If the state biologists think that hunting them is fine for the over all population, and they obviously do, then I do not have any issues with people hunting them.

Not some thing I would do willingly (yes, I HATE snakes) however.
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Old December 8, 2012, 09:32 AM   #17
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Don't forget the pythons down in Florida's Everglades.
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Old December 8, 2012, 09:33 AM   #18
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Good point Art. I believe that Florida is offer $1,500 in bounty prizes based on kill numbers.
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Old December 8, 2012, 11:55 AM   #19
Art Eatman
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Eat a python!

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012...nd-prizes?lite

"Grand prizes of $1,500 for harvesting the most Burmese pythons will be awarded to winners of both the general competition and the python permit holders competition, with additional $1,000 prizes for the longest Burmese python harvested in both competitions."
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Old December 8, 2012, 12:30 PM   #20
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Pythons are an invasive species and tend to prefer the taste of cats and small dogs. They also become large enough to become a threat to small children. Puttin' a bounty and makin' a competition outta the attempt to eliminate them is good sense. As I said before tho, greed will rear it's ugly head anytime money is a motivation. This greed is why all 5 species of rhinos are endangered. If the hunting of rattlesnakes is legal in an area because the population can tolerate it, I have no problem as long as someone without a monetary gain is in control of administrating it. I'd bet that those most opposed to stopping the hunting of them are those that make the most money off them....whadda you think?
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Old December 8, 2012, 02:18 PM   #21
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Rattlesnakes are FAR more common than most city slickers/animal rights advocates think.
They are quiet when you are at a distance and blend into their environment almost perfectly. They are also pretty darned good at finding places to hide.

Even if you know what to look for and are good at finding them there are almost certainly more out of your reach than are within your reach.
Out on the ranch they tended to kill them on principle because of the danger to the livestock as well as a strong desire to never find them in the house.

That being said I never really felt the need to shoot them unless I was in personal danger. I see the guys who hunt them for a living as about half nuts, surely there are ways to make the same amount of money without repeatedly handling creatures that are that deadly. Different strokes I guess.
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Old December 8, 2012, 02:37 PM   #22
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I think that rattlesnake hunting is just as legitimate as rabbit or squirrel hunting, only if you mess up you may end up going to the hospital.
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Old December 8, 2012, 02:45 PM   #23
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Of course hunt them. They're delicious and make nice belts also.
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Old December 8, 2012, 02:56 PM   #24
Bob Wright
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Somehow, to me, there is something wrong with a government that protects rattlesnakes. Something akin to "Professional Courtesy."

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Old December 8, 2012, 03:36 PM   #25
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Do you need a magnum caliber to shoot them?

I'd imagine a heart or lung shot would be a little tough.
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