Investigative Group

Residents: Massachusetts Rattle Snake Island Is ‘The Dumbest, Most Outrageous’ Idea Ever

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Massachusetts residents are freaking out over the state’s proposal to turn an island into a venomous rattlesnake sanctuary, documents obtained by the news site Muckrock.com show.

The Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife proposed introducing 150 timber rattlesnakes to an island in the Quabbin Reservoir in February, but newly released emails and phone logs show nearby residents thought it was “the dumbest, most outrageous” idea ever.

“Have you lost all reason?” One commenter wrote. “The idea of introducing 150 timber rattle snakes [sic] to an island in the Quabbin Reservoir is the dumbest, most outrageous idea I have ever heard.”

Another added: “HAVE YOU ALL LOST YOUR MINDS?” [all-caps emphasis theirs.]

Others were even less subtle.

“You dumb sons of bitches,” another commenter wrote. “If you had any sense, you’d be dangerous. What low-level ass hat is trying to justify his miserable existence and wasting tax dollars doing it?”

The commenter, among others, noted that rattlesnakes can swim and could colonize the mainland.

Still, some residents were happy with the proposal.

“I am so glad rattlesnakes will be bred to take up permanent residence on an island in the Quabbin,” one commenter wrote.

“I have run into wild timer rattlesnakes in california oregon and washington state. [sic] and they were great gentle snakes that everyone wanted to kill,” another said. “I tried my best to protect them but the people were insane.”

Timber rattlesnakes aren’t native to the states the commenter mentioned, according to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.

Another commenter, however, addressed rattlesnakes’ “gentle” nature.

“[N]o, they are not an aggressive snake, they are deadly due to the size of the snake and the amount of venue they inject,” the commenter wrote.

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