A Brutal End

[charles parenteau]

Same thing happened to me few years ago in a sanctuary* the guy kill a gravid garter snake right in front of his son and he told him snake don't deserve to live and this only few seconds after to get out of their car.

I took few minutes to tell his son ....do you want me to show you another bad exemple ....Do you want me to do the same thing to your dad???
I was very mad!But I tell to the dad ,you don't deserve to take a walk in a sanctuary go take a walk somewhere else but not here and I drive him to his car ...He was lucky ....needless to say ....

Hope his son learn something on that day.....

[Hollis_Steed]

My hat is off to you! Good job!

Same thing happened to me few years ago in a sanctuary* the guy kill a gravid garter snake right in front of his son and he told him snake don't deserve to live and this only few seconds after to get out of their car.

I took few minutes to tell his son ....do you want me to show you another bad exemple ....Do you want me to do the same thing to your dad???
I was very mad!But I tell to the dad ,you don't deserve to take a walk in a sanctuary go take a walk somewhere else but not here and I drive him to his car ...He was lucky ....needless to say ....

Hope his son learn something on that day.....

[Tyrel26]

I too have thought of advertising for garter removal but as you said after a point where do you put the snakes...Im sure you would have no problem with me sending you a few of these nice maritime garters tho lol

have you considered just having an open house kinda thing? try to educate the kids in your area. it may be too late to change some old ways of thinking but if you can reach the kids they can scream and yell and cause all kinds of trouble for their parents if they knew they were hurting an animal they shouldn't. My dad wouldn't even kill a mouse around me as a kid cause he knew how much trouble id make for him about it lol
(if you already do this and i am unaware of it, forget what i said lol)


people do the cruel things they do mostly out of fear and lack of understanding, replace these things with appreciation and information and then you can truly make a difference.

[guidofatherof5]

I too have thought of advertising for garter removal but as you said after a point where do you put the snakes...Im sure you would have no problem with me sending you a few of these nice maritime garters tho lol

have you considered just having an open house kinda thing? try to educate the kids in your area. it may be too late to change some old ways of thinking but if you can reach the kids they can scream and yell and cause all kinds of trouble for their parents if they knew they were hurting an animal they shouldn't. My dad wouldn't even kill a mouse around me as a kid cause he knew how much trouble id make for him about it lol
(if you already do this and i am unaware of it, forget what i said lol)


people do the cruel things they do mostly out of fear and lack of understanding, replace these things with appreciation and information and then you can truly make a difference.

Neat idea and one I will have to think about. I usually get a couple visitors a month that want a tour of my snakes. That's just from word of mouth. One of the other deputies took a tour with his wife. She now wants to help me on a feed day. She said she had no idea garter snakes were so cool. She thought they were always wild and could never be calm. When I opened one of my enclosures where my big females live and they came out and on me she was amazed. It was interesting to me as my snakes are usually wary of new faces. This time they didn't have a problem with these people.

[Tyrel26]

Most of the people that have came to visit me think of snakes as slimy and gross and evil....when they arrive; when i go to take one out they nearly run away but as i tell them about the snakes and how each has it own personality and so on, they become more and more interested. Before long I have people coming to visit my snakes and Im the one they take a quick look at lol.

Its a very basic instinct to fear what we don't understand, sadly this often results in death. As much as I hate to see someone hurt an innocent animal for no reason (i am a firm believer in hunting for food) I know that it will do far more good to explain to that person that his/her actions were unnecessary and that animal will cause no harm.

I work with a guy that is terrified of snakes and he told me about a huge garter he seen on the road that was at least 3 feet long (he said 4-5 so i figured about 3 lol) and he turned his car in order to kill the snake and then backed up to hit it again. My first thought was to punch this guy in the head and start yelling at him about being evil and stupid but instead I told him that he had killed an old female snake that was most likely carrying a full batch of babies...I could tell that he felt really bad and really stupid. I have since taught this guy a lot about garters and he seems very interested, he actually wants to go out herping with me sometime.

[guidofatherof5]

Most of the people that have came to visit me think of snakes as slimy and gross and evil....when they arrive; when i go to take one out they nearly run away but as i tell them about the snakes and how each has it own personality and so on, they become more and more interested. Before long I have people coming to visit my snakes and Im the one they take a quick look at lol.

Its a very basic instinct to fear what we don't understand, sadly this often results in death. As much as I hate to see someone hurt an innocent animal for no reason (i am a firm believer in hunting for food) I know that it will do far more good to explain to that person that his/her actions were unnecessary and that animal will cause no harm.

I work with a guy that is terrified of snakes and he told me about a huge garter he seen on the road that was at least 3 feet long (he said 4-5 so i figured about 3 lol) and he turned his car in order to kill the snake and then backed up to hit it again. My first thought was to punch this guy in the head and start yelling at him about being evil and stupid but instead I told him that he had killed an old female snake that was most likely carrying a full batch of babies...I could tell that he felt really bad and really stupid. I have since taught this guy a lot about garters and he seems very interested, he actually wants to go out herping with me sometime.

Very nice.


My biggest problem is the people who won't listen at all. They, with a angry look on their face says "I don't care if they are harmless, I kill them anyway" I work with a lot of those people. They do not believe any snake can have a redeeming quality.

[infernalis]

They do not believe any snake can have a redeeming quality.

What a shallow existance...don't even know what they are missing.

[Laura]

Steve you should start up a charity to help you with your rescue program, I'd be willing to donate GARTER PROTECTION LEAGUE!

[Lovok]

Very nice.


My biggest problem is the people who won't listen at all. They, with a angry look on their face says "I don't care if they are harmless, I kill them anyway" I work with a lot of those people. They do not believe any snake can have a redeeming quality.

My former sister-in-law is like this. Whenever I'd post something on my Facebook page about Scylla, she'd come off with "The only good snake is a DEAD ONE! KILL IT!!", and "That's DISGUSTING! Where's the shovel?", sometimes even worse. And yes, she'd use caps for emphasis. I tried to explain, to educate, and mentioned others who were scared at first then realized she's harmless, all to no avail.

So, when I'd finally had the last straw, I let my anger take over, and when she'd post stuff about how baby bunnies were in her yard, I'd say "WOW! Great snake food!" When she posted a picture of one of her friend's new baby, I posted "Aaw, it's all wrinkly and scrunched up like an old man....now, how many weeks old are they supposed to be before their eyes open?" Finally, when she made mention of her cat, I said "Cats are sneaky, temperamental, unpredictable, evil, and they walk all through their own sh*t before jumping up and walking all over YOU, tables where you serve food, and not to mention their mouths have more filth than a public bathroom floor. They torture what should be their food, and then not even eat it. The only good cat is a DEAD cat. DROWN IT!!"

Of course, I didn't actually mean any of that stuff (well, maybe some of the stuff about cats...), and it could be construed as me sinking to her level, but her unnecessarily rude remarks about my choice of pets stopped, which was my goal anyway.

Sometimes, and with certain people, you really just have to let them know in no uncertain terms they're being unreasonable, irrational douche bags.

[Tyrel26]

Thats why we have to reach the kids now. Even if an old dog can learn new tricks, its still easier to house train a puppy.