# Purposefully swerves to hit box turtle!



## CJSTorts (Jul 27, 2012)

Earlier today country music singer Blake Shelton tweeted this....
"Does anyone know if the Eastern Box turtle is protected in Oklahoma? If so I didn't just swerve to the shoulder of the road to smash one..."

People asked him if it was a bad joke, he responded with rude comments about them getting laid and needing to meet people. 

I looked through the comments by his fans, this just made them like him more! Many said "oh its just a turtle get over it". I don't understand how people think this is funny.


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## Kerryann (Jul 27, 2012)

If that is true it's disgusting  I actually liked him too. no more..


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## wellington (Jul 27, 2012)

I don't like country music or singers. Well only a few old ones that are mostly all dead. So thought he was an idiot, now no I was right. I hope they were pretected and someone turns him in. No difference in my opinion then if he purposely hit a dog, which the idiot probably would do.


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## CJSTorts (Jul 27, 2012)

When people respectfully asked him about it he just came back with rude remarks, never denying it. To my knowledge it is a protected species where this happened.


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## CourtneyAndCarl (Jul 27, 2012)

********. Sorry, don't know if I'm allowed to say that on the forum, but... GRR. I think purposefully hitting ANYTHING, be it a squirrel or the last member of it's species of owl or something should be illegal. 

Humans sure aren't an endangered species, we aren't hurting for any more of us. Maybe it should be okay for us to swerve into them, too? GRR.


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## tyguy35 (Jul 27, 2012)

WOW really


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## Kerryann (Jul 27, 2012)




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## harris (Jul 27, 2012)

I believe what he was saying is he swerved to miss it but accidentaly hit it. And yes, country music died in the very early 90's.


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## CourtneyAndCarl (Jul 27, 2012)

He's saying that he swerved to hit it. He's being sarcastic because the species of turtle he hit is probably protected in his area.


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## Nixxy (Jul 27, 2012)

I like Willie Nelson, Kenny Rogers, and Charlie Daniels.

Not even sure what those would be classified, but that's about it.


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## harris (Jul 27, 2012)

I didn't take it like that. But if he did, he's an idiot, and will hear it from people like you (us) guys. 

Buck Owens, Conway Twitty, and Highway 101.


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## colatoise (Jul 27, 2012)

Karma


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## dmmj (Jul 27, 2012)

Did he say later in another tweet (I hate that word) that he was being sarcastic (hard to detect online without my patented sarcasm detector) or that he swerved to hit it, because it sounds like he said he did not swerve to hit it. meaning he hit it but by accident.


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## Kerryann (Jul 28, 2012)

I did not see that in what I read.


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## nylesmommy (Jul 28, 2012)

Says he swerved to shoulder to smash it .....not accident  people like this make me sick! Ive seen so many hit this year really sad i stop for all turtles and help them cross. A month or so ago there was a crazy wreck on my street on straignt road when we got closer to home we saw a res that had just been hit  karma? I got her help but she didnt make it .


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## CJSTorts (Jul 28, 2012)

I went through his other comments to find more info and when people would ask if it was a joke, he just made rude comments about them, never denying he hit it. 

Not all country people are like this, it is a few famous ones that do stupid stuff that give the rest a bad name. .


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## mctlong (Jul 28, 2012)

CJSTorts said:


> Earlier today country music singer Blake Shelton tweeted this....
> "Does anyone know if the Eastern Box turtle is protected in Oklahoma? If so I didn't just swerve to the shoulder of the road to smash one..."
> 
> People asked him if it was a bad joke, he responded with rude comments about them needing to meet people.
> ...



Some of his fans are no better - "Just a turtle?" - what is wrong with people! This really pisses me off! Are country singers protected in Oklahoma? If so, I'm _not_ gonna swerve to the shoulder of the road to smash this one -


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## GeoTerraTestudo (Jul 28, 2012)

Wow, I had no idea Blake Shelton was such a jerk. Here's what I "tweeted" back to him:

"@blakeshelton Running over animals by the side of the road, eh? Congratulations, you've just made yourself look like an animal-hating loser."

You'd think a guy with a name like "Shelton" would have respect for animals with a carapace. Twit.


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## TheValve (Jul 28, 2012)

GeoTerraTestudo said:


> Wow, I had no idea Blake Shelton was such a jerk. Here's what I "tweeted" back to him:
> 
> "@blakeshelton Running over animals by the side of the road, eh? Congratulations, you've just made yourself look like an animal-hating loser."
> 
> You'd think a guy with a name like "Shelton" would have respect for animals with a carapace. Twit.



Well said, why anyone would find wanton destruction of an innocent creature is totally beyond me. Just thinking about this happening to turtles makes me shudder!


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## GeoTerraTestudo (Jul 28, 2012)

TheValve said:


> Well said, why anyone would find wanton destruction of an innocent creature is totally beyond me. Just thinking about this happening to turtles makes me shudder!



I remember actually seeing someone years ago intentionally swerve to hit a turtle. This was in Florida, and there was a beautiful red-bellied cooter trying to cross the road. The guy driving diagonally ahead of me actually swerved so that he would run over it. The turtle's shell split in two, and the pieces went flying into the air. It was horrifying and very sad. I realize that, unfortunately, sometimes roadkill is inevitable, but it looked like this guy went out of his way to run over an animal. Just awful.


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## CourtneyAndCarl (Jul 28, 2012)

On our way from South Dakota back home to Nebraska, we saw a sign that said "Turtle Crossing" and my mother laughed, I told her it wasn't funny and that it happens.

Well, not long afterwards, we saw the car infront of us swerve to MISS something in the road, and it appeared to be some kind of turtle. We were going 75 down the interstate so we couldn't stop, but it must have been hit by something on the bottom of the car or something, because it spun to the side of the street. Hopefully it was okay


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## SulcataSquirt (Jul 28, 2012)

are sure that is the real blake shelton account?? it maybe a fake trying to screw up his reputation? If not thats just sick.


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## Terry Allan Hall (Jul 28, 2012)

CJSTorts said:


> I went through his other comments to find more info and when people would ask if it was a joke, he just made rude comments about them, never denying he hit it.
> 
> *Not all country people are like this*, it is a few famous ones that do stupid stuff that give the rest a bad name. *Not all are uneducated hicks. *



Agreed.

Remember the controversy a few years ago when Troy Gentry, of the Montgomaery Gentry band, bought, and later shot, in an enclosure, a very large tamed black bear just so he could brag about a record sized kill?

Warning: this may be VERY Hard for some to watch!

[video=youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDsUx4PH5Aw[/video]
[video=youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&NR=1&v=wNcBaLzVuBQ[/video]​
Speaking as an avid bowhunter, this make me sick, because scum like these give the anti-huntering contengent a lot of ammunition!

And, speaking of Blake Shelton:

[video=youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ah_6...?feature=endscreen&NR=1&v=wNcBaLzVuBQ[/video]​


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## chase thorn (Jul 28, 2012)

What a SOB! I couldn't even imagine doing such a thing. Even if you hate turtles or whatever, no one should ever do this


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## ALDABRAMAN (Jul 28, 2012)

TheValve said:


> What an jerk!



 *For sure!*


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## MechanicMatt (Jul 28, 2012)

*Blake Shelton*

If this belongs in the news section, please move Mods. 

I'm somewhat suprised this hasn't made it to TFO yet, but it's all over twitter, where I first saw it, and Facebook now too. Blake Shelton whom I'm sure many of have heard of us and enjoy his music posted originally on twitter about intentionally swerving to hit an Eastern Box turtle on a road in Oklahoma. 

I wanted to believe it was a joke, but when I jumped on my fb account to look at his page I found that it wasn't and he replied to someone who'd originally called him out on it, by flipping him the bird while sitting in a big lounge chair. I was absolutely appalled by this, and couldn't believe that anyone could be proud of doing such a thing, let alone posting it online for thousands if not millions to see. 

Sorry if I'm out of line for what I'm about to say, but I hope there's a special place in hell for people like that. What did that poor turtle ever do to him? I along with many others on this forum have stopped in the road only to jump out and pick up a turtle and move it across the road. I see no reason whatsoever to intentionally harm an animal like that. I was raised to love and respect all the creatures here on god's green Earth.

I have and along with many others posted on his FB page about how disappointed I am in him, and I will no longer be purchasing any of his music. I can't control what the radio plays while I'm driving but i'll be sure to change the station. 

I know I'm a noob here, but as a community I feel we have a right to voice our opinions here and elsewhere about this tragedy. I know accidents happen, but still where is the line drawn at? 

Ok I'm done ranting now, but I felt that this should be posted here for all of us to see. 

Link to his FB page if you'd like to make a post or at least read what others have said: https://www.facebook.com/blakeshelton


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## CourtneyAndCarl (Jul 28, 2012)

*RE: Blake Shelton*

We actually have a thread on it already, but yes. I agree, it's sick.


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## MechanicMatt (Jul 28, 2012)

*RE: Blake Shelton*



futureleopardtortoise said:


> We actually have a thread on it already, but yes. I agree, it's sick.



oh whoops I didnt see it link?


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## CourtneyAndCarl (Jul 28, 2012)

*RE: Blake Shelton*

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread-Purposefully-swerves-to-hit-box-turtle#axzz21wIuKi57


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## MechanicMatt (Jul 28, 2012)

I have no words for how I feel about this, I posted another threat before I found this one, and explained my feelings there, but still. Stuff happens, we all know that, but intentionally hitting an animal like that? I'll be sure to intentionally swerve to hit him if i'm ever driving through Oklahoma. Grrr some people have some big cahones.


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## CourtneyAndCarl (Jul 28, 2012)

I like that you linked to his facebook page on your thread though, it's nice to read some of the beautiful posts that people are leaving on his fan page. Looks like he doesn't have too many fans anymore


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## Edna (Jul 28, 2012)

mctlong said:


> Some of his fans are no better - "Just a turtle?" - what is wrong with people! This really pisses me off! Are country singers protected in Oklahoma? If so, I'm _not_ gonna swerve to the shoulder of the road to smash this one -



Hmm. See, you really shouldn't threaten to harm people. 
For some people, and Blake Shelton might be one of them, just being who they are is really the worst punishment. 



futureleopardtortoise said:


> Humans sure aren't an endangered species, we aren't hurting for any more of us. Maybe it should be okay for us to swerve into them, too? GRR.



That's not the Bhuddist in you speaking, is it?


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## mctlong (Jul 28, 2012)

futureleopardtortoise said:


> I like that you linked to his facebook page on your thread though, it's nice to read some of the beautiful posts that people are leaving on his fan page. Looks like he doesn't have too many fans anymore



My husbands response:
"probably shouldn't have tweeted while he was drunk..."


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## Itort (Jul 28, 2012)

Sometimes this type of action carries it's own justice for these fools. Once witnessed a guy purposely swerve to hit a mallard leaveing one dead duck, an oilpan, and trail of oil down road. To this day I reflect on that expensive duck. Karma.


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## CJSTorts (Jul 28, 2012)

Reports are now coming out that he just likes to be a jerk and posted it for fun. 

http://www.nashvillegab.com/2012/07...lovers-of-the-world-twitter-swerved-kill.html

Even if he didn't do it, why joke about it! Plus many of his fans started stating they kill turtles all the time. I am all for using sarcasm when appropriate but this guy is sick.


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## Laurie (Jul 28, 2012)

CJSTorts said:


> Reports are now coming out that he just likes to be a jerk and posted it for fun.
> 
> http://www.nashvillegab.com/2012/07...lovers-of-the-world-twitter-swerved-kill.html
> 
> Even if he didn't do it, why joke about it! Plus many of his fans started stating they kill turtles all the time. I am all for using sarcasm when appropriate but this guy is sick.



Damage control.


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## CourtneyAndCarl (Jul 28, 2012)

Edna said:


> That's not the Bhuddist in you speaking, is it?



How does that have anything to do with me being Buddhist? 



CJSTorts said:


> Reports are now coming out that he just likes to be a jerk and posted it for fun.
> 
> http://www.nashvillegab.com/2012/07...lovers-of-the-world-twitter-swerved-kill.html
> 
> Even if he didn't do it, why joke about it! Plus many of his fans started stating they kill turtles all the time. I am all for using sarcasm when appropriate but this guy is sick.



OF COURSE it was a "joke" after he got half the animal community up his rear about it. I'm sure he actually did it, and he intended to brag about it. But even if it was a joke, a simple apology would have been the START to reaffirming his good name to some of his fans. Instead he is now making jokes that anyone that got upset about it is a "booger eating turtle freak".


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## Edna (Jul 28, 2012)

futureleopardtortoise said:


> Instead he is now making jokes that anyone that got upset about it is a "booger eating turtle freak".



Hey, Blake, I don't eat my boogers!!!



futureleopardtortoise said:


> How does that have anything to do with me being Buddhist?





What I've read about Buddhism includes not harming living creatures, which would include Blake Shelton, as a precept. That's the main reason why I'm not a Buddhist. I'm a gopher huntin', ant poisonin' gal who only feels good if she eats a few ounces of beef every couple of days.


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## OKTorts (Jul 28, 2012)

The Eastern Box turtle is not even native to Oklahoma. We only have the Ornate and three-toed here. This guy IS a jerk, I know people who grew up with him in Ada, OK.


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## Kerryann (Jul 28, 2012)

I left a message on his facebook. I am team Adam all the way now.. I hope he goes down every season forever since he is a class A loser anyway. That video of them killing the alligator made me want to throw up.


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## Jacqui (Jul 28, 2012)

Laurie said:


> Damage control.



That is my thinking too.


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## CourtneyAndCarl (Jul 28, 2012)

Edna said:


> What I've read about Buddhism includes not harming living creatures, which would include Blake Shelton, as a precept. That's the main reason why I'm not a Buddhist. I'm a gopher huntin', ant poisonin' gal who only feels good if she eats a few ounces of beef every couple of days.



There's also the notion in Buddhism that all living things are absolutely equal, human or not. So, him swerving to hit the turtle was as morally wrong as if he were to swerve to hit a child. And I certainly wasn't saying I'd do it, just that maybe I'll dream about doing it for the next few days 

We're also allowed to eat meat, which keeps me happy.


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## Terry Allan Hall (Jul 28, 2012)

futureleopardtortoise said:


> Edna said:
> 
> 
> > What I've read about Buddhism includes not harming living creatures, which would include Blake Shelton, as a precept. That's the main reason why I'm not a Buddhist. I'm a gopher huntin', ant poisonin' gal who only feels good if she eats a few ounces of beef every couple of days.
> ...



Siddhartha Gautama certainly wouldn't encourage such thoughts, but I'm fairly sure he'd understand them and forgive them.


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## Tom (Jul 28, 2012)

It drives me crazy that idiots like this exist. I have taken direct action against these "swervers". Bad behavior needs to be punished. I also exchanged some very heated words with a moron like this who shot a bat at the Sporting Clays range during a night shoot and then loudly exclaimed, "If it flies it dies...hahaha". I wasn't laughing and neither was he when I got done "educating" him about the benefits of mosquito eating bats, like the one he stupidly shot out of the sky for no reason. The bats come in and eat all the bugs attracted by the lights and my friend and I and our children rather enjoy their company. My nephew had never seen uncle Tom get so mad before, I think it scared him a bit. 99% of the people at that range are good people, but there is a freakin' moron like this Blake idiot in every crowd.

BTW, nothing wrong with stopping on 75 mph highways to rescue turtles and snakes. I do it all the time!  I had to buy a new snake hook one time since my other one got lodged in a swerver's fender and the idiot kept going. Good thing he did. The law frowns on attempted hit and run on a pedestrian and thats what he would have been charged with had he come back with my snake hook...


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## Tccarolina (Jul 28, 2012)

Not excusing Blake, but most of the people that live in areas where box turtles are still very common, consider them as common as spiders or snakes, and have no idea that they are long-lived creatures that take a long time to mature. They pretty much think of them as one might think of rodents. I know many people who swerve to kill ground squirrels. I've done it myself before in country where they are major agricultural pests.

I think the bad publicity will teach Blake a thing or two, and it'll be good for him, but in reality, swerving to hit what one considers vermin probably doesn't qualify someone as a bad person. 

I don't like spiders, they give me the heeby-jeebies, and I have no problem killing them (although I kind of like the little jumping spiders). I guess in buddhism, I'm no different then Blake.

Steve


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## CJSTorts (Jul 28, 2012)

I found this article which I thought was good. He is claiming he was not even in OK at the time but I think it is damage control too. I article mentions people now killing turtles in his honor! 

http://www.npr.org/blogs/13.7/2012/07/28/157528291/why-blake-sheltons-animal-cruelty-tweet-matters


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## Edna (Jul 28, 2012)

He was at the ND State Fair yesterday, and will be at Cheyenne Frontier Days tonight. I doubt he was in OK yesterday. Still a stupid thing to tweet.
Yes, Cheyenne is a drinking town with a rodeo problem.


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## dmmj (Jul 28, 2012)

Please feel free to express your outrage, but refrain from making threats to said country western singer.


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## jojodesca (Jul 28, 2012)

well I will admit i blew up his twitter


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## jaizei (Jul 28, 2012)

supremelysteve said:


> Not excusing Blake, but most of the people that live in areas where box turtles are still very common, consider them as common as spiders or snakes, and have no idea that they are long-lived creatures that take a long time to mature. They pretty much think of them as one might think of rodents. I know many people who swerve to kill ground squirrels. I've done it myself before in country where they are major agricultural pests.
> 
> I think the bad publicity will teach Blake a thing or two, and it'll be good for him, but in reality, swerving to hit what one considers vermin probably doesn't qualify someone as a bad person.
> 
> ...



While I do not agree with the idea of purposefully swerving to hit an animal, I think you made some good points. 



The way it was worded, I lean more towards it being a joke, but you never know. Agree with it or not, the notion of killing animals for fun and sport is common. Otherwise, hunting wouldn't be as big of a multi billion dollar industry as it is. I think it is hard to draw lines saying it is ok to kill certain animals [whether for fun, sport or convenience (pests)] but not others without drifting in to hypocritical territory.


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## CourtneyAndCarl (Jul 28, 2012)

supremelysteve said:


> but in reality, swerving to hit what one considers vermin probably doesn't qualify someone as a bad person.



I think a lot of people would disagree with you there. Here in NE, deer are considered vermin, but I, as well as a lot of people, still think you are a sick human being if you swerve to hit one.



Tom said:


> BTW, nothing wrong with stopping on 75 mph highways to rescue turtles and snakes. I do it all the time!



I probably will, too, but my mom was driving and she's not an animal person. Once we were on an interstate overpass in rush hour traffic, there was a very tiny kitten on the wrong side, trying to cross the traffic to get to the grass on the other side. My mother REFUSED to stop and I didn't talk to her for a week. I will probably turn into one of those crazies that stops in rush hour traffic for stuff like that.


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## Tom (Jul 28, 2012)

futureleopardtortoise said:


> I will probably turn into one of those crazies that stops in rush hour traffic for stuff like that.



Then you and I would get along great on a road trip.

We would be stopping for any kittens in the road...


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## mctlong (Jul 28, 2012)

Edna said:


> mctlong said:
> 
> 
> > Some of his fans are no better - "Just a turtle?" - what is wrong with people! This really pisses me off! Are country singers protected in Oklahoma? If so, I'm _not_ gonna swerve to the shoulder of the road to smash this one -
> ...





Sometimes violence is warranted. I'm going to Oklahoma to visit family next weekend. He better stay out of my way. 





Tom said:


> futureleopardtortoise said:
> 
> 
> > I will probably turn into one of those crazies that stops in rush hour traffic for stuff like that.
> ...



I'd go on a road trip with you guys anytime.


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## CourtneyAndCarl (Jul 28, 2012)

mctlong said:


> Tom said:
> 
> 
> > futureleopardtortoise said:
> ...



We could go on a cross country kitten and box turtle saving vigilante spree.


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## mctlong (Jul 28, 2012)

futureleopardtortoise said:


> mctlong said:
> 
> 
> > Tom said:
> ...



Yes!

Ooooh, then we'll need superhero costumes - something with an awesome cape!


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## Tom (Jul 28, 2012)

I did save a great big female pond turtle of some sort in Georgia one time. Some sort of cooter or slider. I don't know them all, I just know she was not a RES. I had to hold her in one hand and drive with the other. She was pretty calm about the whole thing and didn't pee on me or try to bite, but she bolted when she hit that pond water...


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## Jacqui (Jul 29, 2012)

futureleopardtortoise said:


> I probably will, too, but my mom was driving and she's not an animal person. Once we were on an interstate overpass in rush hour traffic, there was a very tiny kitten on the wrong side, trying to cross the traffic to get to the grass on the other side. My mother REFUSED to stop and I didn't talk to her for a week. I will probably turn into one of those crazies that stops in rush hour traffic for stuff like that.



Hey, if we can stop our semitrucks and walk back the distance it takes to stop one of those to get an animal off the road, then you can do it with your car and much faster/easier. 



I remember reading a study they did once using rubber snakes, turtles, ect.., I was rather eye opening to read the high percentage of American drivers who will swerve to hit an animal on the road.


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## Edna (Jul 29, 2012)

Jacqui said:


> I remember reading a study they did once using rubber snakes, turtles, ect.., I was rather eye opening to read the high percentage of American drivers who will swerve to hit an animal on the road.



It is amazing to me that any agency could get away with endangering motorists by conducting such a study.


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## GeoTerraTestudo (Jul 29, 2012)

Tom said:


> I did save a great big female pond turtle of some sort in Georgia one time. Some sort of cooter or slider. I don't know them all, I just know she was not a RES. I had to hold her in one hand and drive with the other. She was pretty calm about the whole thing and didn't pee on me or try to bite, but she bolted when she hit that pond water...



I'm glad to hear that. Back in Florida, I have also stopped to rescue turtles and tortoises that were trying to cross the road. Once it was a big female softshell turtle. You're supposed to pick them up by the back legs so they don't bite you, but it was tough to get a good hold on her. Still, I managed to toss her into the grass before a big semi truck drove by. She didn't hurt me, but she did hiss and stink up my hands with her musk. Well worth it. 

Another time it was a gopher tortoise crossing the road near where I lived. He was a big, handsome guy. I picked him up and took him to the other side where he was headed, and he went on his way.


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## lisa127 (Jul 29, 2012)

supremelysteve said:


> Not excusing Blake, but most of the people that live in areas where box turtles are still very common, consider them as common as spiders or snakes, and have no idea that they are long-lived creatures that take a long time to mature. They pretty much think of them as one might think of rodents. I know many people who swerve to kill ground squirrels. I've done it myself before in country where they are major agricultural pests.
> 
> I think the bad publicity will teach Blake a thing or two, and it'll be good for him, but in reality, swerving to hit what one considers vermin probably doesn't qualify someone as a bad person.
> 
> ...



I disagree. In my mind, swerving to purposely hit a living breathing creature does qualify someone as a bad person. It sure does not qualify them as a good person, and it says alot about that persons general character.


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## Terry Allan Hall (Jul 29, 2012)

lisa127 said:


> supremelysteve said:
> 
> 
> > Not excusing Blake, but most of the people that live in areas where box turtles are still very common, consider them as common as spiders or snakes, and have no idea that they are long-lived creatures that take a long time to mature. They pretty much think of them as one might think of rodents. I know many people who swerve to kill ground squirrels. I've done it myself before in country where they are major agricultural pests.
> ...



Absolutely!


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## CourtneyAndCarl (Jul 29, 2012)

lisa127 said:


> It sure does not qualify them as a good person, and it says alot about that persons general character.



Reminds me of my favorite Gandhi quote


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## Jacqui (Jul 29, 2012)

Edna said:


> Jacqui said:
> 
> 
> > I remember reading a study they did once using rubber snakes, turtles, ect.., I was rather eye opening to read the high percentage of American drivers who will swerve to hit an animal on the road.
> ...



I don't recall it being done by an "agency" for some reason I thought it was like for a college term paper perhaps.. Also as I recall it was on a well traveled, but not heavily traveled road. The "bait" (plastic animals) were not on the road proper as I recall, the motorists had to swerve to the shoulder to hit them. To me, that is not the researcher placing a motorist in danger, but rather the motorist placing themselves and those around them in danger.  As you would expect, the snakes were ran over in a larger percent then the turtles. This was many years back, if I am remembering right, like 15 years.





GeoTerraTestudo said:


> Another time it was a gopher tortoise crossing the road near where I lived. He was a big, handsome guy. I picked him up and took him to the other side where he was headed, and he went on his way.



 I about scared Jeff half to death, waking him from a sound sleep in the bed, when I did a quick stop in Florida to make sure a gopher tortoise made it across the road.  She certainly gave me a bit of a shock seeing her, let alone watching her come so close to being hit by several cars. To this day, she is still the only gopher tortoise I have ever gotten to see in real life.


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## blafiriravt (Jul 29, 2012)

And THIS, ladies and gentleman, is exactly how social networks make so much money. I'm going to start a twitter account right now just so I can follow the story!


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## GeoTerraTestudo (Jul 29, 2012)

Jacqui said:


> I about scared Jeff half to death, waking him from a sound sleep in the bed, when I did a quick stop in Florida to make sure a gopher tortoise made it across the road.  She certainly gave me a bit of a shock seeing her, let alone watching her come so close to being hit by several cars. To this day, she is still the only gopher tortoise I have ever gotten to see in real life.



Good job! I used to see them quite a bit back in Florida. Needless to say, they are very cool. And I love their burrows. Too bad humans and tortoises like the same real estate.


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## Kerryann (Jul 29, 2012)

This is the snakes vs turtles video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-Fp7flAWMA&feature=player_embedded


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## GeoTerraTestudo (Jul 29, 2012)

Kerryann said:


> This is the snakes vs turtles video
> [video=youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-Fp7flAWMA&feature=player_embedded[/video]



Well, looks like Blake Shelton is in that jerky 1% then. >:-(


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## lisa127 (Jul 29, 2012)

futureleopardtortoise said:


> lisa127 said:
> 
> 
> > It sure does not qualify them as a good person, and it says alot about that persons general character.
> ...



In the first house we owned, we used to get mice that came in I believe through our enclosed breezeway. They of course would certainly qualify as vermin and we did not want them living in our home!! Often we would find them trapped in a corner by our dog or cat. You know what my husband would do? He would gently pick up the mouse in the palm of his hand and take him outside and release him. That is what a _real_ man does. As opposed to purposely killing the animal, let alone one that has not even entered your home!


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## Kerryann (Jul 29, 2012)

lisa127 said:


> futureleopardtortoise said:
> 
> 
> > lisa127 said:
> ...



We kill nothing on purpose ourselves


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## GeoTerraTestudo (Jul 29, 2012)

lisa127 said:


> In the first house we owned, we used to get mice that came in I believe through our enclosed breezeway. They of course would certainly qualify as vermin and we did not want them living in our home!! Often we would find them trapped in a corner by our dog or cat. You know what my husband would do? He would gently pick up the mouse in the palm of his hand and take him outside and release him. That is what a _real_ man does. As opposed to purposely killing the animal, let alone one that has not even entered your home!



I am definitely in favor of animal welfare. However, I think it is justified to let a dog, cat, or ferret dispatch household pests.


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## Jacqui (Jul 29, 2012)

That is about the same experiment as the written report I saw, but the video was a lot more fun.


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## lisa127 (Jul 29, 2012)

GeoTerraTestudo said:


> lisa127 said:
> 
> 
> > In the first house we owned, we used to get mice that came in I believe through our enclosed breezeway. They of course would certainly qualify as vermin and we did not want them living in our home!! Often we would find them trapped in a corner by our dog or cat. You know what my husband would do? He would gently pick up the mouse in the palm of his hand and take him outside and release him. That is what a _real_ man does. As opposed to purposely killing the animal, let alone one that has not even entered your home!
> ...




At times the cat did kill them. If we were home and saw it though, we prefer to let the mouse go free outdoors.


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## GeoTerraTestudo (Jul 29, 2012)

lisa127 said:


> At times the cat did kill them. If we were home and saw it though, we prefer to let the mouse go free outdoors.



Weren't you concerned that it would just reproduce and come back with more?


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## lisa127 (Jul 29, 2012)

No, not really. We lived in that house for 5 years. The amount of times we or the cat found mice I could count on one hand. And we would find one mouse, not multiple. I began to wonder if mice were smart enough to stay away from a house once they learned a cat lived there!! Had we had a bad problem with mice I suppose I would have been more inclined to allow the cat to take care of the problem.


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## GeoTerraTestudo (Jul 29, 2012)

lisa127 said:


> No, not really. We lived in that house for 5 years. The amount of times we or the cat found mice I could count on one hand. And we would find one mouse, not multiple. I began to wonder if mice were smart enough to stay away from a house once they learned a cat lived there!! Had we had a bad problem with mice I suppose I would have been more inclined to allow the cat to take care of the problem.



Good point. Pests do tend to avoid homes with domestic hunters and guardians in them. That mouse was probably happy to give your house a wide berth after that close call.


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## lisa127 (Jul 29, 2012)

I found out rabbits are not quite as smart. A couple of years ago a rabbit decided to build a nest right against the back of my house and I have two dogs!! My shih tzu ended up getting to two baby bunnies that year. Thankfully it hasn't happened since.


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## CLMoss (Jul 29, 2012)

I could never kill anything. Well...maybe a fly or ants. I could not even read the first post of this thread. I just picked it up on the 5th page. 
_________________________________________________________________________________________________

In the first house we owned, we used to get mice that came in I believe through our enclosed breezeway. They of course would certainly qualify as vermin and we did not want them living in our home!! Often we would find them trapped in a corner by our dog or cat. You know what my husband would do? He would gently pick up the mouse in the palm of his hand and take him outside and release him. That is what a real man does. As opposed to purposely killing the animal, let alone one that has not even entered your home!
________________________________________________________________________________________________

Lisa, your husband is a doll!


Read more: http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread-Purposefully-swerves-to-hit-box-turtle?page=5#ixzz224otfBlb


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## dds7155 (Jul 29, 2012)

Any one that would do that is just a loser he's just a loser with money 

I Just Read Clmoss post and have to say mice are dfiferent,,i'm 6'4 and 250 and i will run from a mouse


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## Kerryann (Jul 30, 2012)

Jacqui said:


> That is about the same experiment as the written report I saw, but the video was a lot more fun.



My favorite part of that video was when the guy stopped to save the snake, realized it was rubber, and then stole it.


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## Yvonne G (Jul 30, 2012)

I really enjoyed the video. "Hey! I'm trying to do some science here!" and the guy tosses the rubber snake in the car and drives off!


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## Jacqui (Jul 30, 2012)

GeoTerraTestudo said:


> lisa127 said:
> 
> 
> > No, not really. We lived in that house for 5 years. The amount of times we or the cat found mice I could count on one hand. And we would find one mouse, not multiple. I began to wonder if mice were smart enough to stay away from a house once they learned a cat lived there!! Had we had a bad problem with mice I suppose I would have been more inclined to allow the cat to take care of the problem.
> ...



We must have stupid mice in this area then, because even with our various prides of felines, the mice still come.


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## Tccarolina (Jul 30, 2012)

lisa127 said:


> I disagree. In my mind, swerving to purposely hit a living breathing creature does qualify someone as a bad person. It sure does not qualify them as a good person, and it says alot about that persons general character.



I guess I qualify as a bad person, then.  I've intentionally run over living, breathing things. 

Out of curiosity, what is the difference (in your mind) between killing what one considers a pest on the road and that same pest in ones house/living space?

I think the mindset of the person running over the animal is important here. 

For example, everyone knows that a pet cat has value to someone else, so anyone who deliberately runs over a pet that they know belongs to someone is clearly showing total disregard for the concern/property of others, and getting a thrill out of causing harm/pain (whether to the animal or its owner). 

On the other hand, if the same person feels they are dispatching a pest, and the cat is feral, living in a bird refuge, that is a different story. Some people who care deeply about wildlife would do this.

My point is that if the person is unaware of the inherent value of what they are running over, that is different than if they are aware, and do it anyway.

I have a coworker that runs over every snake he sees. He will go out of his way to do so. He sees them as vermin, and nothing I say will sway his mind. However, he is a fine, well-respected person in the community, and probably every one that knows him would say he is a good person. In the developing world, snakes are killed on sight for the same reason, they are viewed as dangerous and worth more dead than alive. I happen to really like snakes, and I appreciate their value, but I can also look through the other person's lenses and see how they see things differently.

I personally, do not accept that all living things are equal, and that life itself should be spared at any cost. I respect the rights of others who wish to catch and release household pests, but I don't hold the same views personally. A mosquito holds much less value than a house mouse, and a house mouse holds far less value than the neighbors cat.

Steve


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## CourtneyAndCarl (Jul 30, 2012)

supremelysteve said:


> Out of curiosity, what is the difference (in your mind) between killing what one considers a pest on the road and that same pest in ones house/living space?



A pest outside, on the road, is doing absolutely nothing to you. It is merely trying to get from one side of a man made death trap to the other, maybe it's made it's burrow full of it's young on one side of the road, but has to regretfully cross the road every day to get to the best food sources. 

Take a mouse for example. In the wild, this mouse is absolutely no threat to you or your family. Unless you trap it or it is in some way sick or injured, you will probably never get close enough to a wild mouse for it to really make much of a difference to you anyway. In your home, it's a completely different story, obviously. 



> For example, everyone knows that a pet cat has value to someone else, so anyone who deliberately runs over a pet that they know belongs to someone is clearly showing total disregard for the concern/property of others, and getting a thrill out of causing harm/pain (whether to the animal or its owner).



In the same respect, there are plenty of people out there that find a ton of value in wild animals, me being one of them. Feral cats are probably some of the biggest pests to humans that there are, and yet it's not okay to run one over because it may or may not belong to someone? What about the conservationists that dedicate their lives to research and rehabilitation of threatened species, I'm sure that one box turtle (that was more than likely a female filled with eggs) meant a hell of a lot more to them than a feral cat meant to anyone.



> My point is that if the person is unaware of the inherent value of what they are running over, that is different than if they are aware, and do it anyway.



That is exactly what I was trying to get at in that last paragraph. EVERY animal holds a lot of value to someone out there. Instead of thinking "oh there's no way that this is someone's pet, so no one will miss this one in particular", they should be thinking about the little boy that just watched this turtle on his nature hike the day before, that was going to come out the next day to see if it's still there. Or the conservationist that was called by someone else who passed by the turtle in their car that was just getting in his/her car to come and relocate the pregnant female to a safer area. EVERYTHING has value to someone. 





emysemys said:


> I really enjoyed the video. "Hey! I'm trying to do some science here!" and the guy tosses the rubber snake in the car and drives off!



I actually kind of feel bad for the people that were trying to rescue the animals... They should have been given gift cards or something


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## Jacqui (Jul 30, 2012)

futureleopardtortoise said:


> I'm sure that one box turtle (that was more than likely a female filled with eggs) meant a hell of a lot more to them than a feral cat meant to anyone.



On this one, you may be wrong. I have many feral cats that live around me and believe me, they all have value to me. I worry when they miss a feeding and mourn them, when they die. Now I also mourn the loss of a box turtle due to roadkill, but not in the same way. The cat I know, even if I will never be able to come within 10 feet of it, the turtle is not a personal emotional loss to me in the same way. I still regret the wasted life of any road kill, even the coons and opossums who on one level I dislike for their potential threat to my animals. On a side note, I also stop and check out road killed turtles, looking to see if they may have eggs that could still be viable.


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## snaofreno (Nov 2, 2012)

Looks like Blake "I didn't just swerve" Shelton won Country Music's Entertainer of the Year award 2012. Karma is slow.


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## Terry Allan Hall (Nov 2, 2012)

snaofreno said:


> Looks like Blake "I didn't just swerve" Shelton won Country Music's Entertainer of the Year award 2012. Karma is slow.



One of the many "Award" shows that are rigged by the industry, long beforehand.


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## CourtneyAndCarl (Nov 2, 2012)

UGH! Well, I don't like Country music anyways, but STILL! Karma will just have to run into him when he's least expecting it!


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## lovelyrosepetal (Nov 2, 2012)

Box turtles are protected in Oklahoma. He did not hit an eastern box turtle because they are not native here. What he hit was an ornate box turtle, a three toed box turtle or a water turtle. There are laws about how many you can acquire and not selling them but they are ran over all the time here. In defense of the driver, they are very hard to see because from a distance they look like small rocks and if you are going fast you usually will not notice that it is an animal. The guy is probably an idiot and should be more careful of any animal in the road. Having said that, I think that country singers are usually pretty decent people.


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## Jessamy (Nov 2, 2012)

Pretty sure he said he was only joking. I would never date someone that said something like that as a joke, but he seems nice enough overall. Alot of people don't care much about other animals except dogs. I think it's more or equally as common than people like us who strongly empathize with all creatures.


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## Terry Allan Hall (Nov 5, 2012)

Jessamy said:


> *Pretty sure he said he was only joking*. I would never date someone that said something like that as a joke, but he seems nice enough overall. Alot of people don't care much about other animals except dogs. I think it's more or equally as common than people like us who strongly empathize with all creatures.



There's a couple Youtubes that tell a different story about Shelton and his "squeeze", Miranda Lambert...here's one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ah_...5rISPfimwJx7aIFx9tKDsK7i5Bm6S83gvQ3Zgjx03w3q8


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