Texas Rattlesnake Roundup Vs. Ecologists

via Reuters.

It's time for the annual rattlesnake roundups in Sweetwater, Texas, and the ecologists are there to register their formal ecological disapproval:

"There's no glory in rattlesnake hunting," said Lee Fitzgerald, an associate professor and curator of amphibians and reptiles at Texas A&M University.

Hunters scour the arid landscape for snake dens, into which they pump gas fumes to drive them out. Then they snatch them with the tongs.

Hunters say the fumes have minimal ecological impact but many scientists disagree.

"It's an unethical way to hunt and it harms other animals such as scorpions and rodents," said Fitzgerald.

Frankly, I'm not going to be overly concerned with the welfare of rats and scorpions, thanks all the same.