PF
Snakes are a very real problem here in QLD.
Perhaps in a colder climate they may not bother you so much.
They are a reptile.
Apart from that public seem to care more about snakes and crocs than the millions of farm animals in intensive farms.
Thanks to the media. It makes my blood boil. At the same time holding their silence about Intensive poulty pork and other hell holes and live exports.
Do you know they send dogs overseas and their cooked alive?
No not many people do. All they ever hear about is beautiful reptile snakes and crocs.
You known some countries eat snakes. Maybe we should farm them and export them for food too.
I dont go looking for snakes in the outback but on my farm near my stock or in peoples houses and kids back yards the Government have no right to subject people to such utter danger.

Which reminds me has anybody ever heard Dr Harry saying one word about intensive Farms or live exports? No Just reptiles.

Its outragous to think the whole country is controlled.

I am going to start doing something about snakes in back yards on the Gold coast and surounding areas.
Screw the Authorites.

I bet things would change it was 'their' horses pets and kids! families having to move.

What a strange thread. I live in the bush (admittedly not in the WA outback), I've worked on farms and I know many graziers. In fact, after a lifetime - much of which has been spent in the bush - I can't recall meeting anybody, except police officers, who has claimed to need a handgun in the course of their rural occupations.

However, I know many who have legal rifles and shotguns that seem to suffice. Methinks this is just another Is Mise gun lobby beat-up.

I have to say that I also find the redoubtable PALEIF's curious attitudes to native reptiles somewhat inconsistent with their professed love of animals. While I agree that snakes and crocs are incompatible with the suburbs, they certainly have important roles in the wider Ausralian ecology.

On that subject, snakes (black, brown etc) are very common around where I live, and I've never heard of ANYBODY claiming to need a handgun to despatch them. PF is right - snakes are fine in the bush, just not around houses.

I find the business end of a long-handled spade works just fine to move snakes on from the house environs, and I understand that shotguns are even better :)

CJ,

This is not just a gun lobby beat up, if it were how did we manage to get that nice police Sgt in WA to say what he did?

Or those WA graziers to complain. Just where did you work in the bush that you never saw pistols?

This an example of political correctness versus work safety.
It's on a par with John Howard wearing body armour but denying it to service station attendants who obviously have more need of it.

Pale said,
[about crocs]"keep some and in one or two rivers for tourists. Shoot the rest ."
Pale that would be mistake .

Remember Noah took a couple of everything on his boat trip.

I heard a South American cattle rancher say he didn't mind jaguars killing his stock on occasion . He seemed to think they all had to live together.

No jaguars in pale's back paddock .

*Remember Noah took a couple of everything on his boat trip.*

So Jim, are you telling me that Noah had some aqauriums
on board, for all the freshwater fish? Was his son peddling
away to keep the oxygen up to them? If not, how did they
survive the big flood and all that salty water?

Just asking :)

I'm with you on that one CJ. I live and work in rural Australia, and I haven't seen any need for handguns on the stations round here. I don't know any farmers with handguns, though I know plenty of them with rifles.

Some might need them in rare instances, but by and large this smells like another push for handgun rights.

Is Mise, perhaps I'd be more persuaded if you weren't also so vociferous in your lobbying for handguns as use for 'protection' as it exists in the US, where gun violence is endemic.

This bears all the hallmarks of a trojan-horse style argument for reducing the restrictions on handguns.

I support the rights of farmers to have rifles. It is necessary to have firearms when dealing with things like wild dogs and other feral animals.

Handguns however, no way.
It's drawing a very long bow to say rifles won't suffice and that handguns are needed. The specific set of circumstances which have to be applied to make the scenario at all realistic just don't weigh up against the hazards of handgun ownership.