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Think twice before killing that snake!

Snake
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A lot of people have a simple policy when it comes to snakes: Kill it and ask questions later.

But a story in The Advocate today tells us that, while Louisiana is home to 47 species of snakes. Only seven are venomous.

So when state herpetologist Jeff Boundy gets asked, as he often does, “Is this snake going to hurt my dog and grandkids?,” his answer more often than not is "No."

“Of all the inquiries I receive and track, about 97% of them are nonvenomous snakes,” said Boundy, who works for the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.

So, stop before you even think about killing that snake, the Advocate reports.

Venomous or not, snakes are important to our natural ecosystems. Without them, Boundy said, populations of insects, frogs, snails, mice, rats and other small animals would sprawl out of control.

To read the story - including about his Facebook page, where you can show him snakes and ask about them - click here.