In the time it takes to read this article, two animals will lose their life for entertainment. Then it happened, while surfing the social networks a friend contacted me to let me know the Sweetwater Jaycees Annual rattlesnake roundup was occurring AGAIN! I know what you’re thinking, what’s the harm in a ‘roundup’ right? Isn’t that where animals are rounded up on a farm and a sort of census takes place?
Well, yes and no. The yes part is the fact that rattlesnakes are rounded up. There is a census that takes place. No these animals are not farmed.
The rattlesnakes are in the wild. The snakes are doing their thing, basking and catching (potentially) zoonotic (disease carrying animals which can transfer their disease to humans) rodents. In no way are these snakes seeking out human contact. Then for forty-eight hours and no sound or scientifically relevant reason the snakes are taken from their habitat by any means necessary.
What does that mean ‘by any means necessary’?
It means exactly that. Participants are allowed to take the snakes from their natural habitat by any means. In some areas means pouring gasoline down into a den of living snakes to make them evacuate their homes.
Let me give you an anthropomorphic twist here. Imagine yourself sitting at home watching the television with your spouse, children, and various other relatives. Next thing you know, tear gas canisters are shattering windows and filling the home. You evacuate your family and relatives. Upon evacuating, your immediately grabbed and thrown into a vehicle without any explanation. You’re then transported to a facility and paraded around a crowd of alien life forms you’ve never seen before without being given food and water of any kind. Then to top this little adventure off…
Your summarily executed by beheading.
Are you sick to your stomach yet? Well, let me bring this full circle as the media so often does with numbers. With some quick number crunching it’s estimated that a completely innocent and productive member of the ecosystem is slaughtered every two minutes during the roundup. I know what you’re thinking.
“What can I do? I am only one person.”
Fear not friend of the animals, for this is the age of ease. Right here, with this link you can e-mail Joel Harper Executive Director of United States Jaycees execdirector@usjaycees.org and let him know you disapprove of the Jaycees sponsoring such a barbaric act. Then you can contact Heath Cornutt and let the Chapter President know what you think of this as well by emailing Heath corunttheath@yahoo.com. Contact Governor Greg Abbot as well to let him know that the laws protecting animals should also apply to rattlesnakes. Please always be respectful when contacting these individuals.
Threats, verbal abuse, etc. will only make you sound like a lunatic and will not help the rattlesnakes at all. For more information and other resources check out Rise Against Rattlesnake Roundups. For further insight grab a coffee and listen into some in-depth interviews with Ray Autry from the roundup last year. You can also learn about what rattlesnakes mean to the ecosystem and much more through these in-depth interviews as well.
Dr. Rulon Clark Rattlesnake Behavior
Melissa Amarello Rattlesnake Social Behavior
Rise Against Rattlesnake Roundups
Dr. William K. Hayes Rattlesnakes
After that, why not click those share buttons below to let all your friends, groups, etc. know the truth about what’s really going on?