TO KILL OR NOT
KILL SNAKE
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A n d G od made the beast o f the e a rth a fte r h is kind, a n d ca ttle a fte r th e ir kind, a n d e v e ry th in g th a t creepeth upon the e a rth a fte r h is kind: a n d G od s a w th a t it w as good
Genesis 1 25 M ore th a n ju s t occup yin g space, each a n im a l p e rfo rm s som e fu n c tio n . S nakes are no exception. M an, the snake's greatest and m ost irra tio n a l enem y, sh ou ld therefore ponder before he ru th le s s ly k ills snakes. A fte r all, snake sd o not c o n s titu te a danger to m an, since c o n tra ry to p o p u la r belief, snakes u s u a lly flee w h e n encountered, and o n ly retaliate w h e n surprised,
m olested, or th e ir escape route is blocked.
"Farmers Foe" House mouse eating maize grams (P h o to : W o rld o f W ild life 5 (6 3 ) p. 45).
b ut the p o s s ib ility of plague is also reduced Tw o large Carpet p ythons intro du ce d to T h ursday Island, n o rth -e a s t of A u s tra lia , q u ic k ly and com pletely rid the island of its intro du ce d rats w h ic h w ere b eg in n ing to destroy the ecology. S im ila rly in N orth A m e rica , ra t-e a tin g snakes are w elcom ed by m any farm ers, as are P rairie rattlesnake w h ic h feed on G ro un d gophers w h ic h often cause m uch d e s tru c tio n in the w h e a t-fa rm in g belts, w h ile in parts of Asia, pyth o ns are in te n tio n a lly placed in gra in stores to discourage rats. The S o u th e rn A fric a n p y th o n 's value in c o n tro llin g Cane rats in the sugar-cane p la n ta tio n s of N atal is also w e ll know n.
"Farmers Friend". M ountain adder sw allow ing a mouse.
/Photo: Broadley - 1983),
M a n y snakes are a fin a n c ia l asset as they help c o n tro l rodent p o p u la tio n s w h ic h in tu rn may cause great losses to g ra in fa rm e rs and m e rch a nts. Cases have been reported o f rodents c o n s u m in g o n e o u to fe v e ry fiv e b a g s o f cereal. Of the 3 6 kinds of snakes (species and subspesies) fo u n d in the O range Free State, 14 are kn o w n to prey on rodents. The m ost im p o rta n t are the p oison o us P uff-adder, R inkals and Cape cobra, and the harm less B ro w n house snake and M ole snake.
Som e e nlig h te n e d fa rm e rs and g ra in m e rch a nts have intro du ce d n o n -p o is o n o u s ro d e n t-e atin g snakes in to th e ir sheds and stores, w ith rem arkable success. Not o n ly is m oney “ saved"
The above illu s tra te s th a t it w ill be w e ll w o rth the w h ile for fa rm e rs in the O range Free S tate to a Iso consider in tro d u c in g ro d e n t-e a tin g snakes, such as the harm less B ro w n house snake and M ole snake into th e ir gra in stores; in sodoing they can save on g ra in losses as w e ll as e xpe n ditu re on rodent poisons. Therefore, snakes sh ou ld be afforded more p ro te ctio n not in the least because of the fin a n c ia l asset, but also because they are im p o rta n t predators on in ter alia insects, s o m e o f w h ic h m ay e rru p t in to plague p ro p o rtio n s and cause considerable a g ric u ltu ra l dam age.
In co n c lu s io n , the saying th a t "th e best snake is a dead sn a k e " sh ou ld be changed to "th e best snake is an alive sn a ke ". lirjnii
