With 2 new foals on the ground in that pasture was enough reason for me to whack him, colts are very curious and the first thing they want to do is sniff something they have never seen. At best if one gets bit his face will swell up and he will have a ton of trouble trying to breathe. With babies that weigh slightly over 100 lbs they will generally die.
(rednas5) "I disagree with this statement wholeheartedly. Snakes have their purpose." what are those things purpose? i kill one every chance i get! luckily we have no rattlers round here!
Snakes have their purpose....just like mosquitoes. I still swat mosquitoes and I still kill every snake I see
People that kill snakes generally fear them and or they are definetly misinformed or not educated about them. Snakes are not going to seek you out and bite you. lol In fact the rattle is just a warning saying leave me alone. They want nothing to do with you. They control rodent populations like you wouldn't believe. Most of the time they feel you coming through vibrations in the ground long before you reach them. It easier and safer to just leave them alone then go out of your to do them harm. Snakes only purposely kill what they eat or feel threatened by. Only move if hunting for food, seeking water, or regulating body temperature. I know with the traditions of the rattlesnake round up some places have grown custom to just kill it. It's quite sad honestly. And to kill a non venomous snake just cause it is a snake really is cruel to me. Something teenagers do. They are completely harmless and couldn't hurt you if they tried!! I have witnessed mice that have killed snakes. People throw the mouse or rat in a cage with the snake. Snake is not hungry so it won't kill the rodent. They didn't remove the rodent and the rodent tendancy is to chew and it chewed a whole in the snake down to the spine. Anyways not trying to control what people do just trying to give common reasons why people do inflict harm on snakes and what some of the purpose is for them.
I'm glad in my part of the world, that we have no rattlers, but go south about 60 miles or so you can find them. When I lived in centeral Montana we had plenty out there on the prairie.
