So Australians why do u catch poisonous snakes and then release them in the wild?

Snakes have their place in the overall native ecosystem and if they can be caught safely (by a professional snake catcher) and released away from population centres, why not? A venomous (NOT poisonous) snake can't harm anyone if there are no people around and in fact, they very, very rarely harm anyone even in populated areas. 99% of the handful of people who are bitten by snakes each year were interfering with the snake by trying to catch or kill it - leave them alone and they'll leave you alone.

Spiders aren't protected but the last person to die from a spider bite in Australia was in 1981 (or maybe it was 1983) so they really don't present a problem. I've lived in Australia for the major part of 60 years and have NEVER seen a venomous spider.

Australia's supposed dangers are greatly exaggerated.

EDIT:

Yes Zafir - believe it or not, I've never seen a redback.

EDIT #2:

I didn't say I'd never seen a nasty snake or spider. I haven't seen a nasty spider but I've seen plenty of nasty snakes including a large and very venomous one that was in the house. I killed that one because I had an hysterical child I couldn't calm and couldn't wait until a snake catcher could get here.

There are no poisonous snakes or spiders in Australia, you can eat any of them quite safely. Many of the snakes and all spiders are venomous - there is a big difference. All snakes in Australia are protected. If you find a venomous snake in or near your house or where people are, you call the Wildlife Rescue Service, WIRES, and they will catch the snake and release it away from habitation.

While on any list of the most venomous snakes in the world Australia has at least eight of the top ten, our snakes do not attack people unless threatened and if you leave them alone they will leave you alone. 95% of all people bitten by snakes in Australia were trying to kill the snake at the time.

I know Canada only has one venomous snake, Massasauga Rattler which lives in Ontario, but is Canada trying to eradicate this snake, or is it left alone? You've also got a large number of animals which can be harmful to humans, but I bet those are allowed to live freely in the wild.

And really, when are Australian poisonous snakes released back into the wild, I've never heard of this happening. Snakes are kept in captivity in zoos, and many have their venom milked to make anti-venin, but we don't make a habit of capturing wild snakes.

@ OzManiac - are you saying you've never seen a Red Back Spider, they are so common!

Considering most of ours are poisonous it's hard to do it the other way around...

For the most part they are not captured.

The exception is if they are in built up areas, they will be relocated to bushland (wild). Just like a lot of other places with dangerous animals. Polar bears and other bears for that matter will get trapped and moved to less populated areas so as to decrease the risk of human and bear interactions...

Australian native animals, even the venomous ones, are protected under state and federal laws. Just because an animal is dangerous does not mean we have the right to cause it to become extinct. We simply have to move it to an area where it is less likely to come in contact with people. We have professional wildlife handlers that can do this for you. You might be surprised to know that even the Great White (aka White Pointers) sharks are protected when in Australian waters.

I don't catch poisonous snakes and then release them in the wild neither does anybody i know(sounds like a stupid thing to do catching snakes)i just leave them alone & they do the same for me, same with spiders don't **** them off & they are fine

I am intrigued by your statement that only one of the answers is good because all seem to be telling you the same thing.I am also intigued by the number of non Australians who feel the need to continually find fault with, & interfere in, our business.What we choose to do with our wildlife is surely our concern & we don't have the 'shoot first & ask Qs later' mentality that's found in the N.American continent.

I have caught many snakes around our joint over the years....in the early days I'd kill them out of my own stupidity & ignorance but have long since learned how to catch them safely .

These days I take them for a ride to a National Park nearby & let them go & do what snakes do ...

Why on earth would a person want to kill snakes? They don't hunt people and they serve their purpose in nature. If someone is dopey enough to pick one up and gets bitten it is no less than he/she deserves.

Most of us respect and protect our wildlife, not destroy it.

I just read your additional details rant.

Let me try to explain.

It is rare that anyone in a town or city would find a snake, let alone a venomous one, in his/her home.

Snakes are part of the ecology, they eat vermin and in steps up the food chain, they are on the diet of some birds.

You lost me a for the next little bit as it seems your computer does not have capital letters and you don't seem to know the difference between NO and KNOW.

Many people never see venomous wildlife. I grew up on a country property and may have seen a snake once/twice a year at the most. They were there but they like to keep to themselves and if a person leaves them alone to do what snakes do no-one gets hurt. Spiders are all over the place, but most of the ones a person comes in contact with are harmless.

What you guys do with your bears is your business, but I shall correct you in as much as if the bears have not harmed life and property they ARE relocated. You have a three strike policy for bears.

Kangaroos are often in plague proportions, I mean there can be literally millions of them when conditions are right for their breeding. Learn your facts!

There IS a difference between poisonous and venomous... check the dictionary.

If we eradicated all the snakes, how would we keep the drop bear population down?