North Carolina has a dilemma. A proposal has been made that the killing of venomous snakes be made illegal, except in self-defense. This is equivalent to saying that killing any venomous snake would be illegal because the excuse of "self-defense" does not really exist when dealing with U.S. snakes. The proposed law would simply protect part of our natural wildlife.
I am all for it. But not everyone is. I support the proposed legislation because snakes are more maligned by misinformed people than any other major group of animals in the world, except perhaps sharks. The amount of harm snakes do to us each year is minuscule compared to the amount of harm people do to themselves because of irrational fear.
For example, most snakebites in the United States are a result of someone's picking up the snake or trying to kill it. Is that the snake's fault? Of course not. No U.S. snake will attack or chase a person, despite Uncle Ned's childhood memories. It just doesn't happen.
One reason given by some North Carolinians for opposing the law is that venomous snakes are dangerous. Of course they are. Fangs are how they defend themselves, just as dogs have teeth. But you must first be bitten. And the latest information available suggests that the majority of U.S. snake bites happen after someone picks up the snake. No snake is going to intentionally bite a person except as a last resort when it thinks it is cornered and cannot escape.
Even rattlesnakes will retreat into a hole if given the opportunity. On a snake collecting trip, I once was unable to catch two big diamondback rattlesnakes a few feet apart because they saw me first and disappeared into stump holes. They will escape from anybody if they can do so.
According to the information from state health records, only two people have died in North Carolina from snakebite since 1970. That's one person every fifteen years! How serious a problem is that? Have these people who do not want to protect snakes checked the number of deaths from automobile accidents, drownings, and homicides? Do they also want to eliminate cars, water, and people?
North Carolina's proposed law would protect species of snakes that are getting rarer and rarer. Included are the diamondback rattlesnake, coral snake, and tiny pygmy rattler. According to one authority, few diamondbacks have been found in the state in the last few years. Yet when a proposal is put forth to protect them, some people act like a ruling was being made to require all traffic lights to be green on both sides.
If you want to comment on whether disappearing venomous snakes should be protected, the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission will accept public comments on the endangered-species designations. The official date set for comments, February 29, has already passed. But with snakes and other disappearing wildlife, providing comments in their defense is never too late, as long as the species are still with us.
One of the problems with trying to respond to environmental issues involving disappearing species is that deadlines for providing comment are often upon us before most people can get their thoughts together. But consider writing them with your comments anyway. I hope you will say that North Carolina should do whatever is necessary to protect their rare snakes, venomous or not. I would rather see a few uninformed people dissatisfied with such a decision than know that one more component of our native wildlife is disappearing.
Comments should be directed to Randall Wilson, Division of Wildlife Management, P.O. Box 29613, Raleigh NC 27626-0613 or by email to wilsonrc@mail.wildlife.state.nc.us. Be sure to include your name and mailing address. You can indicate that your letter or email may be late but that you would like your views to be on the record in case the proper protection is not given this time.
People who neither care for snakes nor want to learn about them should just leave them alone. Some of us like to have snakes around, and I see no logical reason why our wishes should not be observed. Because someone has not taken the time to understand the role of snakes in natural environments is no reason for this important part of our wildlife heritage to suffer.
If you have an environmental question or comment, e-mail ecoviews@srel.edu.
http://www.uga.edu/srelherp/ecoview/Eco40.htm
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