IL town removing snakes

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marchnw
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IL town removing snakes

Post by marchnw »

Here's one that made my blood boil a little...

http://www.ksdk.com/story/news/local/il ... /28247907/

Nick March
Perry County, MO
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Bryan Hamilton
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Re: IL town removing snakes

Post by Bryan Hamilton »

If you're close Nick, can you contact the city officials? They at least need some factual information to form a response.

"An exterminator did come to this park early Saturday morning but could not remove the snakes for fear they would poison the fish in the lake. " Are they planning to poison the snakes, or concerned that the dead snakes will poison the fish?
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Thorny
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Re: IL town removing snakes

Post by Thorny »

The city has decided that is easier to kill harmless water snakes than teaching people they are harmless.

That makes my blood more than boil and it does not sound like anyone involved has the slightest idea what they are doing.
herper1
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Re: IL town removing snakes

Post by herper1 »

Some states it is illegal to kill snakes. Someone should check IL state laws.
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Bryan Hamilton
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Re: IL town removing snakes

Post by Bryan Hamilton »

I understand everyone is angry by what's happening. I suggest we direct our feelings and contact the village:

http://www.vil.maryville.il.us/forms.aspx?FID=53

(618) 345-7028


I would urge folks to be calm and rational in their responses. This is an opportunity to do something positive for snakes!
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pete
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Re: IL town removing snakes

Post by pete »

Someone should contact Scott Ballard. He'll have the people removed from the park ;)
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mtratcliffe
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Re: IL town removing snakes

Post by mtratcliffe »

I've emailed both the Village of Marysville and KSDK, which ran the story. Such a sad state of affairs - I can't believe no one stopped to assess the situation before diving headlong into the wholesale slaughter of what are almost certainly some variant of Nerodia sipedon. I used to live in the area - if I was still there, I'd be out there protesting tomorrow.
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mtratcliffe
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Re: IL town removing snakes

Post by mtratcliffe »

I sent a message to the Village of Maryville, and to my surprise, Mayor Gulledge himself called me back. We had a nice conversation and he cleared up the chaos surrounding this story. Not surprising, there is a lot of misinformation out there, and KSDK did not do their part to vet the info they reported on.

In regards to the reports of a dozen snakes having been killed, that is true. However, these snakes have been killed over the duration of the past few months either accidentally by lanwmowers or intentionally by local fisherman. These snakes have been from several different species, the town is conducting an investigation in order to stop the killings.

Next, the Mayor acknowledges that there are NO Cottonmouths at this park, and that there are also no efforts to kill/massively relocate all of the snakes at the park. The only ones possibly being relocated are the ones found in the garden, so that none of the gardeners are bitten or kill the snakes out of fear. The garden may also explain the snakes killed by the lawnmower or other powered equipment.

This whole situation started when a local made a social media post about seeing "Water Moccasins" at the park near their kids, and it has just spiraled out of control from there. A misinformed public and an overly-eager local media outlet are to blame for most of this hysteria. I'm glad to see that the folks managing the park have some common sense. In fact, the mayor is meeting with a State Herpetologist this afternoon to discuss the matter.
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ZantiMissKnit
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Re: IL town removing snakes

Post by ZantiMissKnit »

mtratcliffe wrote:I sent a message to the Village of Maryville, and to my surprise, Mayor Gulledge himself called me back. We had a nice conversation and he cleared up the chaos surrounding this story. Not surprising, there is a lot of misinformation out there, and KSDK did not do their part to vet the info they reported on.

In regards to the reports of a dozen snakes having been killed, that is true. However, these snakes have been killed over the duration of the past few months either accidentally by lanwmowers or intentionally by local fisherman. These snakes have been from several different species, the town is conducting an investigation in order to stop the killings.

Next, the Mayor acknowledges that there are NO Cottonmouths at this park, and that there are also no efforts to kill/massively relocate all of the snakes at the park. The only ones possibly being relocated are the ones found in the garden, so that none of the gardeners are bitten or kill the snakes out of fear. The garden may also explain the snakes killed by the lawnmower or other powered equipment.

This whole situation started when a local made a social media post about seeing "Water Moccasins" at the park near their kids, and it has just spiraled out of control from there. A misinformed public and an overly-eager local media outlet are to blame for most of this hysteria. I'm glad to see that the folks managing the park have some common sense. In fact, the mayor is meeting with a State Herpetologist this afternoon to discuss the matter.
I'm glad that this has been cleared up; however, I'm angry at the "local media outlet" for their report. The person who posted on social media about "water moccasins" is just a member of the misinformed public. I have encountered people in Massachusetts who claim there are "water moccasins" around; I'm sure that every state with water snakes has locals believing the same thing. The media, however, appears to have taken this social media post and embellished greatly on it (or at least didn't fact-check). What idiots.

I watched the video, and saw the rock wall near the garden, which is going to be VERY attractive to snakes.
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Bryan Hamilton
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Re: IL town removing snakes

Post by Bryan Hamilton »

I'm glad to hear the story was hyperbole. It was really too much. Really cool that the mayor called you personally to clear things up.
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Bryan Hamilton
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Re: IL town removing snakes

Post by Bryan Hamilton »

MCHerper
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Re: IL town removing snakes

Post by MCHerper »

marchnw wrote:Here's one that made my blood boil a little...

http://www.ksdk.com/story/news/local/il ... /28247907/

Nick March
Perry County, MO
It's nice to see the backlash in the comments though. Most, if not all, are in favor of educating people and leaving the snakes alone.
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Hadar
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Re: IL town removing snakes

Post by Hadar »

Bryan Hamilton wrote:Some additional information:

http://www.vil.maryville.il.us/CivicAle ... m=facebook
Good on Village of Maryville News for posting that to clear things up. Too often is media focused on fear and backed with ignorance. The combination of which can have terrifying consequences. It reminds me of a pledge we did in elementary school at the beginning of each day:

"Life is short. Therefore, I shall be a crusader in the fight against ignorance and fear, beginning with myself." - Dorothy Vickers-Shelley
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Kelly Mc
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Re: IL town removing snakes

Post by Kelly Mc »

Hadar wrote:
Bryan Hamilton wrote:Some additional information:

http://www.vil.maryville.il.us/CivicAle ... m=facebook
Good on Village of Maryville News for posting that to clear things up. Too often is media focused on fear and backed with ignorance. The combination of which can have terrifying consequences. It reminds me of a pledge we did in elementary school at the beginning of each day:

"Life is short. Therefore, I shall be a crusader in the fight against ignorance and fear, beginning with myself." - Dorothy Vickers-Shelley

You have a generous soul for this world, Hadar.
Barry R
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Re: IL town removing snakes

Post by Barry R »

From what I've read, Ballard reminded (or educated) city officials that they have to obey the law :)
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