Commentary by Michael Swickard - posted on NMPolitics.net - The facts are simple. David pulled up to his house and noticed a rattlesnake in his driveway. He killed the rattlesnake to protect his family. No, he did not try to get along with the rattlesnake or pick it up and move it to the yard of someone else. He killed it exactly as I would have done. I was rather amazed when reading his column in the Las Cruces Bulletin that he would admit killing a Rio Grande High Mountain Desert Southwest Chihuahuan Wilderness Silvery Mexican Gray varmint rattlesnake. People add all sorts of extra names to ordinary varmints such as rattlesnakes to make them seem exotic. Also, they have been saying that rattlesnakes are not dangerous to our grandbabies when in fact they are. Well, he did kill the rattlesnake and wrote about it. I salute him. There are those people who think that rattlesnakes can coexist with grandbabies. Not so. Most of us kill varmints withou
t public comment since there are wingnuts out there who weep copious tears and want us to walk around rattlesnakes at our peril. I was raised differently.I have three rules about varmints such as rattlesnakes: First, if I see them anywhere around my house or my family’s ranch house I kill them. If I see them around civilization I often will kill them so as not to leave the danger for other people. If I see them anywhere else such as in the desert I strictly leave them alone. Contrary to some people’s thoughts I do not hate nor fear rattlesnakes. At our family ranch south of Carrizozo I have thinned them out all of my life. As a child I pointed them out to my grandfather who killed them before they could kill me. Out in the desert I have left them alone all of my life. But, around the people I love I do not hesitate to act. Read more
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2 comments:
WELL SAID! People's priorities have become increasingly off balance. The great irony is that many of those who would weep over the demise of a rattlesnake would go to great lengths to justify the murder of an innocent child, calling it a "woman's right" to have an abortion. How they reconcile that in their mind is beyond comprehension.
It sounds like you have learned some falsities from your grandfather, and now keep the tradition ... immune to reality.
Here are the facts. Killing rattlesnakes to "protect your family" is like shooting at passing cars while you let your kids play in the street. It's simply a uselessly destructive method of dealing with the problem that has a lot more to do with your feeling of pride than it does actually do any good.
Many people do not consider wildlife to be 'varmints', which is why this may be so confusing to you. Nobody is just coming up with names to make them seem more exotic, there are many distinct species of rattlesnake in New Mexico, some of which do require protection.
As for the 'danger' of rattlesnakes, here's the truth. Try not to just disregard it immediately. According to a recent venom specialist in a busy ER in Phoenix, Over 80% of all bites are men, the majority of whom are trying to kill or play with the snake, most of whom have also been drinking. Most of the last 20% or so are professional snake handlers or those who work with the animals. The remaining sliver of bites are 'legitimate' bites, which even then are likely preventable simply by education. Even THEN, of 7,000 or so bites that occur each year in the US (most of those, again, being provoked the the 'victim'), only 10 die.
If you really want to protect your family, teach your kids what snakes look like, and educate yourself on the reality of the situation. The idea of "killed them before they killed me" is just ridiculous. You may not fear or hate them, but you certainly don't know anything about them either. I can only hope you're not like the majority of those who have such an attitude and only find pride in rejecting the above information.
How many grandbabies are killed each year by rattlesnakes in the U.S.? How many by dogs? How many in car accidents? How many are left in the sun? How many choke on plastic toys? If you actually were to look up these statistics instead of just stating it to be so, you'd find that you're wrong in your assumptions.
Here's a good article for you to read: http://theroamingnaturalist.wordpress.com/2010/08/27/rattlesnake-musings/
... and before you dismiss my remarks as made by some crazed tree hugger, I am a professional rattlesnake catcher in Arizona. I work daily with home owners, rattlesnakes, and their concerns with them. This is a subject I know well, and if you are able to bear it, your article just couldn't be more wrong.
If you want to know more about the animals and the realities of human/snake interaction, I'd be glad to have that conversation with you. In fact, I'll even email you my email address and telephone number. Your column deserves a more informed opinion.
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