In yet more news about just why rattlesnakes are so vital to our ecology, the "magazine of the west," Cowboys and Indians, tries to explain why human fear and persecution of these animals are so misguided:

While it’s not especially natural to empathize with beady-eyed creatures that have been demonized throughout history and rounded up for mass killing, the idea that “the only good snake is a dead snake” is an erroneous one, says Steven J. Beaupre, Ph.D., a biology professor at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. Snakes play an important role in sustaining the earth’s fragile balance of nature, and, although often unjustly persecuted, they offer humans many benefits. For example, according to the National Institutes of Health, snakes are the prized research animals for some scientists seeking better treatments for such disorders as high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, Alzheimer’s disease, and cancer.

“Serious diseases lurk in nature, and healthy ecosystems provide protective effects. Rattlesnakes exactly fit the bill,” Beaupre says. “They’re critically important natural rodent-control agents and voracious small-animal predators that help keep rodent-born diseases like hantavirus and bubonic plague in check.”

Beaupre also says Arkansas timber rattlesnakes may actually help control Lyme disease by consuming large numbers of white-footed mice that carry the bacterial infection. “Plus, any rancher who stores grain knows how devastating rodents can be to his supply,” he notes.

In a world where snakes are villified even when they are harmless and doing nothing but trying to avoid humans, and rattlesnakes are abused and tortured in the name of "entertainment" at "rattlesnake round-ups," those are words herpers and animal advocates alike should take to heart.

Read the full, excellent story here.