[url]http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=32380[/url]

                            Man faces jail for killing rattler in
                            self-defense
                            'I'm stunned that the snake had more rights than
                            a human being'

                            Posted: May 3, 2003
                            1:00 a.m. Eastern


                            © 2003 WorldNetDaily.com

                            A Michigan man who killed a poisonous snake he says
                            was threatening nearby children has been found
                            guilty of "killing a protected reptile or amphibian
                            without a state permit" and faces a possible jail
                            sentence, reports the Ann Arbor News.

                            Convicted of killing the rattlesnake during an
                            afternoon outing Aug. 9 with his two sons and their
                            friend at Pickeral Lake northwest of Ann Arbor,
                            47-year-old James Galloway says he was protecting
                            nearby children and himself, according to the report.

                            Galloway said he wasn't aware that it is a crime in
                            Michigan to kill the Eastern Massasauga rattlesnake,
                            Michigan's only venomous snake.

                            The six-member jury convicted Galloway after being
                            confronted by the prosecution with the
                            plastic-wrapped, frozen, decapitated snake as
                            evidence.

                            According to the paper, Galloway testified he was
                            walking up a narrow, sandy path when he heard a
                            hissing sound. With the rattlesnake about six to eight
                            feet away, Galloway saw a 3-year-old girl and her
                            parents walking down the path toward him. After
                            telling the girl to stop, testified Galloway, he grabbed
                            a stick and used it to pin down the snake while the
                            girl and her parents got out of range.

                            He then picked up the snake and transported it to a
                            dock where his sons were fishing, said the News.
                            Planning to set the snake free, Galloway says he took
                            the snake to a parking lot preparing to use a shovel
                            to scoop up the snake and release it into the woods.
                            But the snake then came toward him, said Galloway,
                            and, feeling threatened, he used the shovel to cut off
                            its head and rattle.

                            A woman observing the events and suspecting the
                            snake was a protected Eastern Massasauga
                            reportedly contacted authorities on her cell phone. In
                            court, an expert testified he doubted Galloway's
                            story, since the Eastern Massasauga is generally a shy
                            snake that usually will flee in the presence of humans.

                            With sentencing scheduled for June 26, the
                            misdemeanor crime carries a maximum penalty of 90
                            days in jail and a $500 fine.

                            "I'm stunned that the snake had more rights than a
                            human being," said Galloway.

Fucking nuts.(no edit I am in a foul mood)

time to feed the hogs


I think environmentalism is a nutjob religion almost as dangerous as Islam

I HATE SNAKES!

The only good one...is a dead one.

Had one give me the willies about an hour ago.

I wish I had my .45 with rat shot with me.

MM419

Frankly, I don't believe his story either.

"Honest Judge, I was going to turn it loose.  That's why I was [b]*at the the dock, with a shovel* [/b]when I released it.  Why did I keep the head and rattles? Ummm..."

He should have been charged.  If the jury found him guilty, how is it that anyone on this board knows better what happened?

He used the shovel on the wrong snake. [;D]

Hell, that's freakin' crazy.....we have "rattle snake round ups" In west TEXAS....

and don't forget....tastes like chicken!

IT'S A FUCKING SNAKE! WHO CARES WHERE HE KILLED IT?

Yes juries never make mistakes, right !

jeeze...the BITCH that made the cell phone call should be thrown  in a snake pit....



-HS

[Johnny Cochran mode]

If he almost got bit - you must acquit!

[/Johnny Cochran mode]

Michigan has very few rattlesnakes and a great deal of liberals. It's three biggest economies are the auto industry (UAW), Prisons, and Welfare. All traditional democratic voting blocks.  This story does not surprise me at all.

groan



[lol]

There are some people involved here that I hope get bit by a rattlesnake; a bitchy woman, a freaking "expert" and at least one board member.

Johnny Cochran is a snake I am surprised he was not on this case.

Don't hold back WHO?

He probably means me, 'cause I don't believe the guy really needed to kill it in "self defense".

Why supporting an animal's right to live from freaks that hate snakes is a capital crime, I don't know.  If y'all are so freaked out that ANY snake needs to die, you need some counseling, seriously.  Sorry.

Ohio, I got a rule with snakes, if they run from me I let them, it they look like they got a problem with me I blast the shit out of them.

My rule is that they need to stay in their cages unless an adult is around.
Wild snakes?  I leave them alone.  Venemous snakes?  They are left be nless they are within 50 yards of the house, or [b]follow[/b] a human.  Then they relocate or die, usually die.
They are NOT demons incarnate.

Do you think the guy deserves jail time?

Howbout if he just went out and killed if for the heck of it?

If you answered yes to the second question, then, how do you feel about varmint shooting?

Do you worship the earth goddes?

I have about the same rules only it is 50 miles of the house.

He killed a protected species and should have known better.  Ignorance of the law is not a defense.

Snake killers beware!

Aren't you contridicting youself? [:)]

For the record, I do think that the civil magistrate has the right to restrict hunting on public grounds.
I think that the civil magistrate has the right to protect endangered species.
I think a fine or public flogging is the appropriate penalty for this crime, not jail.
Varmint hunting is aimed at species that are not endangered.
The Massassauga rattler is very rare, and endangered.
I really don't care what nonendangered, nonhuman species of wild animals he kills on private property, with the landowner's permission.

I am a member of the Reformed Presbyterian Church in North America.

Any other questions?

Wait til you see the penalty for killing a California Condor.

But, but judge, those claws could take yer eye out!

1)  Why didn't the nosy b**ch mind her own business?

2)  How far did the responding "authority" have his/her head up his/her @ss?

3)  How incompetent was the guy's defense attorney?

1. No. A fine, yes.

2. Yes.

3. Snakes arent varmints.

4. No.

I have been told American Eagles taste like turkey.[:D]

Snakes aren't varmints? They are right here on page 8 in my "BOOK OF VARMINTS".

That is right between SALESMEN and SNEAKS for anyone that wants to look it up.

Uhhmmm, no. I won't post this part. [0:)]

I don't buy this endangered species crap either. What's the point?

Species have been dissapearing for as long as there's been life on earth. Why try to stop it? About the only argument I've heard is "what if such and such critter turns out to hold the cure for such and such horrible disease"

It's called evolution, only the strong survive.

exactly



given that this snake species actually is dangerously close to extinction ... what would be the negative of killing it off? it's a danger to people who unwittingly come across it, and there are other snakes that can handle whatever small amount of "pest control" this snake provides.

I hate women so much, they are always using emotions to make decisions. Use some reason you dumb bitch!

[size=6][green]Oh look ,the president of PETA joined AR15.com, LOL[/green][/size=6][

Poaching is poaching.  Plain and simple.
If it was a deer or a bear or a squirrel, many would be singing a different song.
[b]"killing a protected reptile or amphibian
without a state permit"[/b]
Pretty clear what law he broke.  Glad the jury was able to see past Genesis and the fact that
'snakes are the debil!'

BTW, Michigan is about as far left on the animal rights issue as California is on the gun control issue.  You do not want to be caught abusing animals in that state.

Oh look CA. is chriping up.[nuts]

No offence Paul, I guess some normal people live there also.

boy if they only knew how many rattlesnakes i've killed this year

i hate snakes, but grass snakes and the like get a pass from me ............... except the one i found IN my house, in the water heater closet, he died a traumatic death with a hoe

but if i see a rattlesnake, and im armed, the bastard dies, period

dont have many rattlesnakes in X state?  come down here and i'll send you home with some.  our secretary was almost bit last month while mowing around some tanks, my 83 year old grandmother was in fact bit about 6 months ago while picking weeds in her garden, to hell with em

[size=6]SNAKES ARE PEOPLE TOO![/SIZE=6]



edited to add this: ---->  [;)]

This is the kind of stuff that gives me headaches.

He killed a snake.  So what!  Are there really people on this board that don't understand what is wrong with putting a human in jail for killing a stinkin snake!

I've killed hundreds of 'em.  I hate 'em.  I'll continue to kill all of them I ever see.

But, of course, I live in a FREE state, the Great State of Texas, thank you Lord!

It's a snake,who gives a shit.
I'm not scared of snakes at all, only time I kill em is when they piss me off.

I'm suprised he hasn't been called an "Environmental Terrorist" by the PETA / 'Animals-Have-Rights-Too' crowd here. [rolleyes]

I'm from Ohio and I hate snakes. Were not all PETA members.

You talkin about Sweetwater? Im about an hour away and ive been reallly wanting to make it out to one of those

It would seem so.  Interesting how we feel the need to legislate the treatment of the lower animals, isn't it?

he should have let the family pass and then toss it into the bushes along side the trail, the snake probably would have been on its way. he took it back to the dock so he could show his kids and look big and fearless to them, then killed it when it got away from him and tried to defend itself. he should be fined the $500 and no jail, to bad the snake didnt bite his ass and teach him a good lesson. i run into rattlers in eastern oregon once in a while when hunting, if its close enough to strike at me i kill it, if its a ways away i pass it by and leave it alone.  they dont bother anything most of the time.


by the way if its by your house or garage definetly kill it, but out in the woods, leave it alone.
the bitch on the cell phone should have minded her own business not called the police into the matter.

Ahem excuse me guys, is this alice in wonderland we are living in?  How in the hell can a man be sent to jail for defending himself and children against a poisonous snake.  Seems a little funky to me.....


Having said that, you have to corner or literally walk by one for it to become agitated and threaten a strike.  There's probably a different truth than what is being told.

It's [b]not[/b] evolution -- it's natural selection; two different things.

[red]Genisis 3:14 ¶ And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:
15  And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.[/red]



[b]Sorry! Not in Michigan!![/b] [:D]

So... you're saying the state of Michigan infringed on his freedom of religious expression?? Hmmmm...

Sounds like a 1st Amendment-protected right to crush snakes to me! [:D]