Changing how people view and treat snakes
(they don’t want to bite you) On May 16th, 2021, I hopped on a flight from Newark to Tucson. A few hours later, in an unfamiliar airport in Arizona, I met a professor I’d never spoken to in person, linked up with a fellow volunteer I’d only communicated with via text, and was handed the …
This article was written by Jeff Smith & Melissa Amarello, Co-founders, ASP “In the end we will conserve only what we love, we will love only what we understand, and we will understand only what we are taught.” “How do people understand something that terrifies them?“ In a recent essay, Robles (2021) details attitudes toward …
To celebrate ASP’s fifth birthday, we’re sharing five inspiring stories with you — a new one each week through the end of 2019. Read them all here. This past summer at the farmers’ market, a little boy ran up and hugged me. At first I thought it was a case of mistaken identity, but then …
The heart of ASP’s work is education using stories to illustrate cool snake behavior and busting myths and misconceptions when answering questions about snakes. Although they tend to change over the years, at any given time people have the same questions: “Are rattlesnakes rattling less?” “Are babies more dangerous than adults?” “How do you tell …
and other wild animals too! Don’t use bird netting Avoid glue traps and poison Shoot snakes with a camera Keep pets indoors or under control Share positive stories about snakes Drive carefully, watch for small animals Respect and appreciate wildlife from a distance Make adoption the first option for your next pet Don’t buy wild-caught …
“Snakes. Why’d it have to be snakes?” – Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark Humans often fear what they don’t understand and to most, snakes are a mystery. Snakes rely on crypsis so even when traversing through their world, we rarely see them. This void of direct knowledge is filled by myth and …
Our Negative Attitude Toward Snakes is Their Biggest Hurdle Read More »
Be aware of your surroundings, and there’s no need to beware of snakes. Snake season is here, but that’s no reason to avoid the outdoors. Enjoy nature, wildlife, and stay safe with our Top Tips for a Safe Snake Season: Do not approach, handle, move, or kill snakes – most bites happen in these situations! Use …
Happy World Snake Day! Be a #SnakeHero — Share this video from our friends at Planet Experts to speak out for snakes today (and everyday)! Want to know more? Check out these posts for stories, photos, and videos of cool snake behavior discussed in the video.
Gassing rattlesnakes in Texas A proposal to ban gassing in Texas (one of the few states where it is still legal) was introduced in late 2014 and has been debated ever since. Pouring gas into the ground to collect wildlife probably seems a little crazy and hardly controversial, but rattlesnake roundups depend on this method …
WARNING: the following video is graphic and violent – it shows what happens at a rattlesnake roundup. Each year, tens of thousands of rattlesnakes are taken from the wild to be displayed and slaughtered for entertainment and profit at rattlesnake roundups. Professional hunters, not bound by ‘bag’ or ‘take’ limits, remove snakes from their native …