How can we somehow stop people from killing reptiles???????

[snakelady96]

Ok so as most of you know i live out in the middle of no-where, 'Mount Isa'. I'm posting this hoping get some idea's of how to 'nicely' educate people on reptile species we have in Australia.. Honestly barely anyone seems to except the we live in THEIR world and if you choose to build/buy a house here you WILL get the local wildlife in the backyard! It upsets me seeing people posting pics on Facebook saying 'Oh look i killed this snake on the weekend it was a king brown', or whatever snake they THINK it is. Meanwhile its a harmless python of some sort or legless lizard or a snake that isn't even capable of biting you! But then again regardless of what the species is it does NOT need to be killed!

Basically, just wanna get some advice on how i can educate people here not to kill the reptiles (when i say reptiles i do mean large skinks and turtles as well as snakes) that we choose to live with...

It is ILLEGAL to kill ANY Australian reptile and people seem to think the rule doesn't apply to them because we dont have a DERM here (not that many would know what DERM even was!)... But please really need some suggestions on what i can do to show people some awareness and not to be so THICK!

I'm sure anyone who has visited Mount Isa for a herping trip knows how beautiful the reptiles are here and they dont deserve to be killed over ignorance!
Thanks in Advance!

 

[Wrightpython]

The world will always be filled with ignorant people wishing to do harm to reptiles after all it was the snake that made Adam eat the apple and made all humans lives shorter so for this they should all be beheaded. Ignorance is bliss

 

[elapid@]

there need to be more signs, warnings , rules,penalties , regulation under conservation placed every where . just like street signs. like koala crossings kangaroo, wombats, etc, the same should apply for reptiles.........every suburb should have several. not just placed in national parks.

 

[Stompsy]

Who can we report it to when someone kills a snake?

 

[montysrainbow]

I know what your saying, however i dont think all the signs in the world will help. I grew up on a farm and i can still remember going to get the eggs from our chook yard and as i reached in there was a king brown coiled up with the eggs! i told dad and he got the shovel! sad but true. Alot of old skool farmers dont really care.

 

[dickyknee]

Sure it's not great people still kill snakes so readily but I think the killing of a certain type of animal is only an issue to most when it is their animal of choice being killed and it's fine when it's not.
For example , how many on here will happily stomp on a spider if it's crawling around in your kids bed , or hold a rat by the tail and smash it's head in to feed to your snake...

I don't go around killing any animals , but if myself or my family is in danger from any animal , reptile , spider , dog etc then I will do what ever to protect them including killing it.

 

[junglelove]

ok so people will kill the animal if it is "dangerous" this is what people dont understand they are not dangerous unless you start chasing it with a shovel!!! if you had no arms or legs and someone is coming at you with intention to kill you what would you do??!
the majority of people who get bitten by venomous snakes are the d*&kheads trying to kill them.
i dont kill anything i have redbacks in my bathroom and most of the time huntsmens roam free in the house if my niece (3) comes to visit i take the spiders outside!
ooh post pictures of people holding a dead kitty say OMG it was going to kill my snake so hahaha look what i did!!

 

[Egernia]

I dont think the solution to the problem is the legislation nor the threat of prosecution. I am convinced the solution here is education and giving people a viable solution to killing the snake.

As a snake catcher in urban Sydney I have seen the change in the way people view snakes over the years. When I first started out there was a lot of bad attitude toward snakes but that is now the rare exception. Most people seem to accept that the snakes are around and they are more than happy to have the removed but would not go the extra step to actually killing them.

Your problem in rural Australia is that there is not very often the easy solution of calling in a snake catcher. So that makes it more difficult to convince people that they should not kill the snake and as much as I hate the idea of a snake being killed I cant blame people on the land for killing snakes that end up around their house as they see them as a serious threat that needs to be dealt with.

I think your best bet is to get an article in the local newspaper letting people know the truth about snakes and hopefully that will bring some of them over to 'our side'.

Things that I think you could point out in such an article would include the facts that:

1. It is impossible to get bitten by a snake unless you are within its strike range which for most species is less than half then length of the snake. The people who tend to get that close are the ones who are trying to catch or kill the snake.

2. The fact that they get a snake in the first place suggests that their property is a suitable place for a snake to be. Killing or removing a snake is not likely to solve that problem. Snakes are attracted by food, shelter, and water, so controlling all or some of those is going to help reduce the chances of future encounters.

3. Keeping away ground cover and rubbish and keeping garden beds around houses clean and clear is going to reduce the chances of having a snake close to the house in the first place and make them easier to see if they do show up preventing accidents!

4. Including a quick run down on some of the non-venemous species in the area with a pic or two may enable some people to realise that those deadly 'king browns' they have been proudly killing over the years are actually harmless pythons or the like.

5. Finally, in NSW at least and perhaps other states, it is not actually illegal to kill a snake on your property or that you felt was a threat to person or property. You have that protection affrorded to you under the act. The old Section 21 defence! So it would be next to impossible for any action to be taken which makes education far more valuable.

There are always going to be some yobs who think that the only good snake is a dead one but I find that mentality is disappearing in many places.

 

[browny]

how can YOU try and reduce it? tough question to be honest, only thing I can think of is make up some 'posters' (kids project if you have kids) stealth mission over night putting them up around shop windows etc

other than that I can see how 1 individual has any hope

 

[PMyers]

if you had no arms or legs and someone is coming at you with intention to kill you what would you do??

Any one else get the image of the Black Knight when reading this? "Come back 'ere! I'll bit ya to death!"

 

[Egernia]

Browny I think this is one of those situations where an individual can make a big difference.

The media loves snake stories so the OP could use that to her advantage and get the local newspapers, local TV, and local radio to all run stories about how to deal with snakes.

When I first started out snake catching years ago I did so through WIRES. I was a volunteer but at 18 years old I was very passionate about the problem after having seen Diamond's cut in half by shovels before I could get there etc. I became a regular in the media here in Sydney back then with regular articles in local newspapers, the SMH, the major TV channels news spots, radio shows like 2GB gardening show on the weekends, a TV show with Mike Whitney plus more.

In most cases I contacted the media with stories of recent snake removals and used that opportunity to educate. It worked as I became quite the local celebrity when doing snake calls as people would often comment that they had seen me or hear me somewhere.

One person can make a difference. It is about getting the word out though not about threatening or talking down to people though.

 

[MR_IAN_DAVO]

Egernia, you just beat me to the punch. I totally agree the best thing is public education, however some people cannot be educated & you won't change that.
A story i very often tell is one that was told to me by a once upon a time curator at the zoo at the Rockhampton Botanical Gardens. - Many public where making complaints that they saw snakes (Common Browns) cross the path in front of them when they were visiting the gardens, it did not matter that they probably walked past another 2 or 3 that they did not see. The local council made the curator who had a catch & release license catch any snakes that he came accross & relocate them. He told me that once he had done this, the next 12 months the place got over run by rats & mice, so he had to reintroduce snakes from catch & releases elswhere to bring back the balance.

Our garden here at home is what some might call quite luxurious & tropical. I very often have browns, spotted pythons & green tree snakes live here or just pass through. They cause no trouble & allways just want to get out of the way. At any one time i would be surprised if there is not at least 1 or 2 browns living in our garden. They don't bother me & i don't bother them, we live together with an understanding of each other.

Cheers
Ian

 

[sarah1234]

Maybe not doing much on a big scale, but every person that comes into contact with my snakes is taught by myself about their innocent nature (I've converted many a snake phobic/killer). After having held a harmless pet most of them go off with a changed attitude. One person at a time is better than nothing .

 

[user 16446]

I can't believe no one has suggested exhibiting snakes more often. In public places, shopping centres, malls, workplaces etc... I know it is illegal on most licences to exhibit them, but this could be the very problem in itself. No one apart from herpers, has access to seeing and learning about them unless they go to a park, and it's the arrogant ones that don't go to parks. So you have to bring the show to them!

I've often thought about taking some of my pets to work once in a while, and getting people interested and 'educated' in them. When should the law stand in the way of 'protecting' and animal?

 

[snakehandler]

People do these displays all over Australia, we even go to schools and public events, what most people don't understand is that there is a section of the community we will never change, the fear of snakes drivers a hatred of them, many of these people see snakes as a pest like a cockroach, that needs to be killed.....it's the way some people are.


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[kisskim]

i would like to put my 2 cents worth in. i do not keep snakes though i have cared for reptiles with NATF. i also have spent many years on properties with my children and pets, i had a sad experience of loosing my 18mnth great dane to a red belly black snake, i do not blame the snake but the country vets who mis diagnosed her illness. i once had a red belly go over my foot as i was sitting in my lounge room having my first cuppa, although i had the biggest adrenaline rush i ultimatly caought the snake in my daughters bedroom and relocated it, i have always relocated snakes that decided my house yard was a good home (about 2 acres) to protect my family. like the opinions expressed here the issue is to educate people, be it one at a time or via the media on a regular basis, the snakes are a special part of our beautiful country and should be appreciated and protected, not just made into a statistic, or a tall story for the pub. i share my stories of snake experiences on properties and even though some are sad and scary i reiterate that they should not be killed.

 

[Monitor_Keeper]

hmmm

 

[Aussielostegypt]

I've recently moved to the Central West NSW. In the few months I've been here the direct neighbours have sought out and killed two brown snakes. I watched their stupidity, two weeks ago. The bloke went over to the house across the road wearing nothing but boxer shorts and thongs. He was armed with the madatory shovel. It took them at least an hour to kill it. They even had to use a mower to scare it out of the bushes. Then one of the lads held it by the tail for a trophy photo. I had to laugh when they exclaimed that it was 'a biggun'. It wasn't as long as the lad. Wonder what they'd call my 2.5m python. I told the neighbours when they killed the first one that I would be happy to go hook the snakes up and take them to a faraway field, but they didn't call me. They are agressive blokes, so I wasn't going out to interfere. Their excuse for killing them is that they have children. People are motivated by fear and then it's the adrenalin and the kill that makes them do it.

 

[MR_IAN_DAVO]

I've recently moved to the Central West NSW. In the few months I've been here the direct neighbours have sought out and killed two brown snakes. I watched their stupidity, two weeks ago. The bloke went over to the house across the road wearing nothing but boxer shorts and thongs. He was armed with the madatory shovel. It took them at least an hour to kill it. They even had to use a mower to scare it out of the bushes. Then one of the lads held it by the tail for a trophy photo. I had to laugh when they exclaimed that it was 'a biggun'. It wasn't as long as the lad. Wonder what they'd call my 2.5m python. I told the neighbours when they killed the first one that I would be happy to go hook the snakes up and take them to a faraway field, but they didn't call me. They are agressive blokes, so I wasn't going out to interfere. Their excuse for killing them is that they have children. People are motivated by fear and then it's the adrenalin and the kill that makes them do it.

The more people that do this & get bit probably the better, then people might start to listen, but everybody is a hero.
Cheers
Ian

 

[Snake Catcher Victoria]

Does this link work here ?

https://www.facebook.com/#!/video/video.php?v=10150717719906458