Brutal slaughter of garter snakes in Manitoba

[Catherine]

I feel just sick about this. Right now the garter snakes are gathering in the inter lake region of Manitoba in preparation for hibernation. The snakes will go down into the limestone caves and sleep through the  long cold winter.

A University of Manitoba Grad student has been studying the snakes  and visits them three times a week. When he arrived this time he found dozens of them had been brutally killed. These are such harmless snakes and this is a vulnerable time of year for them.

http://www.ctvnews.ca/sci-tech/dead-snak...-1.3623234

This is a terrible act of cruelty against a creature that lives its life quietly and does nothing to harm us. Garter snakes don't compete with us for food. They were in a remote area so they were not bothering anyone. It was uncontrolled violence against harmless animals. 

I feel sick just thinking about how they suffered. I feel sick about the loss of healthy animals at a time when survival of the species is at risk. These snakes have died and so have all their future offspring with them.  There should be a special crime designation for killing the future of a species and putting it at risk. This is more than just cruelty. This is a hate crime against a species. I doubt they will catch anyone, but I hope that karma is on the job. Things should not go well for this person or persons in the future.

[Tobi]

What a senseless, cruel horrible thing to do. I hope whoever did this is brought to justice.

[Catherine]

I feel sick at such a terrible loss of life. They died horribly . They are now lost to their species and that makes it even worse. 

They were quietly waiting to hibernate. They are slower moving and vulnerable this time of year. 
It took a cruel coward to do this. 

I hope the catch him, but sadly I don't know how they can.