05/26/2026
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For real people!
WHY IT'S ILLEGAL TO KILL SNAKES. (IT'S ALSO UNETHICAL AND IMMORAL.)
When I tell people that it’s illegal to kill snakes in Utah (and many other states and jurisdictions as well), they often want to know why. There are several reasons:
1. Wildlife is the property of the state, which means it belongs to all of us. The snake in your yard doesn’t belong to you; therefore, you have no right to kill it.
2. Snakes are non-game animals. The state doesn’t sell licenses to hunt them, and there is no “open season” on snakes, especially in places where they're protected by law.
3. Snakes are not considered “consumption animals.” Although you can eat them, they probably wouldn’t be your first choice of wild game.
4. Killing a snake, or selling or even keeping a prohibited or protected species without permission from the state makes you a poacher.
5. It’s unethical to kill a harmless and beneficial animal.
6. Snakes eat the rodents that would ravage our food crops, and can carry numerous pathogens including plague, tularemia, Hantavirus, tick-borne encephalitis, Lyme disease, and a host of other serious and potentially fatal diseases. If you have never suffered from any of these maladies, you should probably thank a snake.
7. Learning to coexist with other life forms on this planet makes you a better human being. Practice peaceful coexistence!
From the book, "The Only Good Snake . . . Tales from a Rattlesnake Whisperer," by David E. Jensen
Meme by Serpent Encounters
