Filed under: SALDF | Tags: Center for Biological Diversity, rattlesnake, roundups
Your help is needed to convince Georgia’s political leaders that “rattlesnake roundups” should be illegal. Roundups are contests where hunters bring in as many snakes as they can catch in a year; then the snakes are slaughtered and sold for skin and meat.
These gorefests cut a wide swath of destruction as they push eastern diamondback rattlesnakes toward extinction: Hunters spray gasoline into gopher tortoise burrows, destroying the burrows and often killing the animals inside. Gopher tortoises are an imperiled species, and more than 350 other species also use gopher tortoise burrows. Last week wildlife officials in Georgia apprehended four men who had gassed 50 tortoise burrows to dig up snakes for last weekend’s rattlesnake roundup in Whigham.
Under Georgia state law, venomous snakes are exempted from any legal protection. We need to change state law to make rattlesnake roundups illegal. Last week the Center for Biological Diversity sent a letter to Governor Sonny Perdue asking him to do just that — but to get him and other state officials to listen, concerned citizens in Georgia must speak out. That’s you. We need you to write Governor Perdue, your state senator, and your state representative and ask them to amend state law to make roundups illegal. Rattlesnakes are unpopular critters, and they need every single voice they can get to speak up for them and their 350 burrow-mates. Follow the link below to take action today.
|
If you have trouble following the link, go to http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2167/t/5243/content.jsp?content_KEY=6916.
Sample letter: Subject: Stop Rattlesnake Roundups
I am writing to ask that the state of Georgia enact legislation to outlaw “rattlesnake roundups.” The roundups are annual contests in which hunters bring in as many snakes as they can catch in a year to be butchered, and are responsible for depleting populations of eastern diamondback rattlesnakes in the southeastern United States. This once-common species is now being pushed toward extinction: A study analyzing 50 years of roundup data found that the total number of snakes and the size of individual snakes have declined, and that hunters must travel farther to catch snakes for the event.
Two of these events take place annually in Georgia, in Whigham and Claxton. One of the justifications for the continuation of these killing contests is the generation of community revenue, but other communities that used to hold roundups have successfully changed the focus of their annual event. For example, San Antonio, Florida changed its roundup to a Rattlesnake Festival where there is no collection contest and snakes are not killed. Similarly, the town of Fitzgerald, Georgia replaced its roundup with a Wild Chicken Festival, which organizers say has been an enormous success.
The roundups are environmentally harmful. Snakes are commonly caught by the gassing of gopher tortoise burrows, which is harmful to 350 other wildlife species which use the burrows, including some federally listed species. Last week, an enforcement officer from the Georgia Department of Natural Resources apprehended four men who confessed to having gassed more than 50 tortoise burrows to catch snakes for the Whigham roundup. If roundups are allowed to continue, both the eastern diamondback rattlesnake and the gopher tortoise may require Endangered Species Act protection.
Another justification for roundups is the extraction of venom that is purportedly sold for medical purposes, but producers of rattlesnake antivenin have stated that venom from roundups is unusable and that they do not purchase it. Wildlife education is also a supposed benefit of the roundups, but it is undeniable that the educational value of the roundups would be far greater if snakes were not collected and killed, and the importance of saving native species was emphasized.
The roundups are not necessary to protect the public from the danger of rattlesnake bites. Eastern diamondback rattlesnakes are considered to be a gentle species, and the majority of bites occur when humans try to capture or kill the snake. In the United States, there are six times more annual fatalities from lightning strikes or bee stings than from venomous snake bites.
Under Georgia state law ยง 27-1-28, venomous states are exempted from regulation by the Department of Natural Resources. This law needs to amended and rattlesnake roundups need to outlawed to protect gopher tortoises, rattlesnakes, and wild Georgia ecosystems.
Please take action by March 15, 2010.
Donate now to support our work.
Eastern diamondback rattlesnake photo courtesy Dr. Bruce Means.
1 Comment so far
Leave a comment
If it breathes, has a heart beat, and feels pain…Guess what its a living creature! I hope they pass the law that ALL snakes be protected under the ga law.
Comment by snakegrl 03/18/2010 @ 9:14 pm