So we need to put a end to this mentality concreted into society. `

[TreeHugger]

Yesterday one of my fellow environmental science students posted this on facebook and was very upset about it. Unfortunately its a picture we have all seen to often.

What is wrong with people honestly?

Herpers in Australia need to work to 'dismember' the ignorant view that many Australians have toward snakes... It makes me sick honestly. So, so, so, angry.

I know there are people out there doing a lot of educational work at zoo's and schools ect.. but there needs to be more of us doing demonstrations to especially children, so when they grow up, their generation will maybe not be as screwed up as the section of society that would dismember a harmless snake (or venomous at that) so inhumanely it makes me want to cut off their head and see how they bloody like it!

We need more educators! Do Australia a favour!

Rant over.

Happy New Years everyone,

 

[Bluetonguesblack]

Looks like a roadkill to me with all that splatter.

 

[TreeHugger]

This was on a suburban street... not even on highway... It looks to be like its been purposely killed... My friend was pretty certain on that.. either way... Use your eyes

 

[akuji]

I hate the mentality of the average Australian with regards to a snake, however I do my best to educate the younger generation and even the older generation that will listen when given the opportunity. One man's crusade perhaps but I feel it should be some sort of licencing prerequisite...

 

[thomasssss]

This was on a suburban street... not even on highway... It looks to be like its been purposely killed... My friend was pretty certain on that.. either way... Use your eyes

I used my eyes although things are a lilttle blurry from last night there sure does seem to be a lot of splatter but I guess snakes only get run over on the highway did your friend tell you that to

 

[Snake Catcher Victoria]

Nice use of sarcasm thomasss, lol, ansd i agree, this looks like a standard issue roadkill pic more than a redneck, shovel attack.
and I agree with the TreeHugger to, and lots of people do spend every day trying to change peoples perception of snakes and the more people that talk up our natural world the better.

 

[r3ptilian]

Definitely a road kill unless it was dis-emboweled with a shovel as well. Either way it is still sad to see.

 

[TreeHugger]

Nah Thomasss I didn't mean you need to use your eyes I meant people in general should look when their driving. Personally i see a animal on the road before a oncoming car :S but that's just me, you catch my drift. I'm well aware snakes can get hit everywhere, but I meant more along the lines that it was on an suburban street? Therefor would have had to be driving pretty silly to make such a mess of the snake. Just double checked though and yes infact there was a clean cut dismemberment to the body of the poor little thing. There should yes akuju there should be a licensing pre req of this nature. Would make the world of difference I think. I would really like tag your replies in this, but i am yet t discover how to on mobile. My eyes are a bit blurry from last night still as well .

 

[JungleManSam]

driving up to townsville yesterday and I stopped over when the car infront of us ran over a tree snake. it had seen better days, but it streched from the white line to the middle of the road and he made no effort to stop, i picked him up and put him in the grass off the road. but on the way back from townsville, there had been one dead for about a day, same type of snake, same lenght but alot thicker and alot of brighter yellow on the underbelly. bit sad but those where the only two snakes we saw as road kill from brisbane to townsville and back. not to bad considering the amount of wallbies and other hairy things that get hit.

 

[MathewB]

But it's not just australia that we have to correct, we have about 7billion people to convert

 

[Shaggz]

I was driving on a small 4X4 track today when I suddenly stopped to let a Tiger snake finish it's travel across the track, Even though I own a Snake and my wife is learning to deal with it being in the house her first reaction to this beautiful little Tiger was to tell me to run it over, Obviously I didn't listen to her and sat there for a couple of minutes explaining how the poor thing was more interested in getting away from us than trying to hurt us and that we were in his backyard. My wife finally saw where I was coming from and started taking a bit more notice of snake, The best part of it though was hearing my teenage kids backing me up and having some opinions of their own on what made it such an awesome little snake.

 

[Bluetongue1]

TreeHugger, I see no value in using the image shown with the message you are trying to get across. The reality is that animals get hit and many are unavoidable. No-one wants to deliberately hit a roo and yet look at the numbers that are hit by cars. That is without adding heavy haulage into the equation. Road conditions play a significant role as well. Even on a flat, straight stretch of road with great vision, the road surface becomes virtually invisible at night in the headlights of on-coming traffic. You don’t have to have a lot of driving experience to be aware of these things and to see the photo as an accidental road kill.

What you are endeavouring to get across has to do with changing people’s values. So it is not something you can teach and test as part of a licence. I am sure if you asked people on their licence test do they ever intend to exceed the speed limit, an inordinate number would say no.

What might encourage people to rethink their values is an image that shows someone blatantly killing a reptile with their car. Like someone deliberately driving on the wrong side of the road to kill a snake. Something that is visually confronting in its inherent values. Not just something that is sad to see but easily explained as par for the course. It also requires “verbal” explanation – something sharp and to the point. You need something that will grab people’s attention and get the message across before you lose it again.

This is far from my forte so I will plagiarise: “Stop the killing of innocents! Snakes have right to live too. Do you realise how important they are in the ecosystem? Without snakes we would be regularly overrun with mice and rat plagues. Please let our snakes live and continue to do the job they do so well.”

The reason I have rabbited on here is that I think your friend’s facebook pic is more likely to be counter-productive in lacking explanation and serving to possibly desensitize.

Blue

 

[Matt1988]

Hey guys,

Everything that we need to fix all starts with education, I know I am not the only one saying this in this forum, but it is the only way that things will ever change. If anyone is willing to do displays and educational day try looking for schools that are doing fate days and things like that and offer to bring some of your reptiles in for a display and education session. A number of schools will probably jump at the idea of having something out of the ordinary there.

I know myself, as someone studying teaching, will be pushing for the education and awareness of just how important reptiles are to our entire ecosystem within my own classroom and hopefully the entire society within which I will work in the future. Everyone on this website has a love for these amazing animals, we just need to show everyone else just how amazing that they actually are and help them understand and appreciate them.

As for the photo, I am probably being optimistic here, but from the look of it that snake has been run over and then put out of its misery rather then let it die painfully. I know it is probably overly optimistic, but not everyone out there hates snakes.

 

[Indysmum]

Its a common story with many animals, some accidental, sometimes deliberate . Really need to keep open mind when going on the animals rights kick, its not just about snakes. Many other animals are treated the same (possums for example).
If I owned a Gogglydoof pet and it fed on snakes and I spend all day spamming pics of it feeding....everythings got to eat, sure, but some take such pride and disrespect of the lives lost to feed another. My point being, it is perhaps hard to convince others of the value of a snakes life when little regard is shown to another animals life.
This is very generalized, but it does seem to be a common and acceptable. So it would be like me telling everyone to go vegan while eating a quarter pounder >.<. Lets hope all wildlife, petlife...heck..alien life too..are shown more respect than peoples cheap thrills of death photos!
*I think the idiots who would drive on wrong side of road to hit a snake, most likely would do the same to a cat, dog or any other beloved pet or wildlife. Some people are just sick, and stupid!

and agree about educating children about animal welfare, wild and domestic aswell as conservation of resourses...sometimes it feels a losing battle 'turn that light off!' lol