Snakes - to shoot or not to shoot

[Willie Barnard]

Elsewhere in this forum, a poster is taken to task for asking advice that implies that he wants/needs to shoot snakes.

Snakes and discussions about them cause heated reactions, most of it emotional. Nobody is neutral about snakes.

Gunsiters, give us your views about snakes:
Should they be killed -ever/never/sometimes.
Should they be kept as pets ?
How big a danger do they pose?
Should we provide for this danger in our EDC habits?

Let's hear from you.

Willie Barnard

[driepootx]

Personally I spend many hours in the veldt doing my work. I have only found very few poisonous snakes and get the feeling that I make enough noise to scare them away.

My reasoning would be to remove poisonous snakes by killing them if they intrude on my habitation. The other harmless snakes I will try to re-establish in safer areas where they will not be killed by other humans.

[KK20]

i would do my best not to harm them

[krieger]

Non poisonous : they are left to do whatever they do.

Poisonous snakes are nothing more than moving antipersonnel mines.

[Antlion]

In all the trails I have either cycled or hiked,I have come across very few snakes. The two puffadders I did come across when cycling moved away once we were near. Same with others,they moved as we approached.At the house, we found a few snouted cobras along the years as there was veldt behind us. A larger one slithered into the bushes never to be seen again. One was killed by the gardener. If it poses a direct risk to some one, then I'll consider killing it,but so far this has never happened,and could either be removed and transferred or in the case of ones in the veld left alone ,as we are in its territory. Most people can't tell the difference between them and will shoot/hack/burn anything that slithers.

[EugeneGlock23]

To not shoot , if you are close enough for a snake to bite ,instead of trying to draw your FA step out of range (it will be quicker anyway) and if you are in the veld ,leave it alone , if at home call the pro's and have it relocated ,I grew up with snakes and had plenty of my own ,the myths that you hear are aplenty ,a snake won't attack unless cornered or provoked and are not a pest anywhere ,on the contrary they sort the pests out!

[Andrew Leigh]

Don't kill,

snakes do their damndest to get our of our way. They sense vibration through their bellies and skedaddle. When we eventually come into contact with them stand still and they will go if not move back sloooooowwwly.

sankes are not the enemy, movies have made them so.

[luke peter]

I have had many encounters with poisonous serpents... In every situation, barring sleeping puff adders, they have been interested in getting out of dodge and leaving me to my own devices. My dad always used to relocate dangerous snakes at my old school campus and i am inclined to do the same.

Should a snake develop into some sort of maneating tsavo mamba then sure shoot the thing, but otherwise live and let live....

[burner]

Not to be shot, killed or maimed, leave em be, have come across many while on the plot never killed one, all were relocated to he nearby vlei.

Imagine if Mrs Lady Friend nailed the trouser snake with some shot, live and let live.

[Andrew Leigh]

Probably miss Burner ........ target too small .