In the state of Georgia, it is illegal to kill a native, non-venomous snake. It’s a misdemeanor, which means that it is punishable by up to a $1,000 fine, and / or up to 1 year of jail time. I don’t know if this is the case in all of the other states, but it is in at least some of them.
It is currently not against the law to kill a venomous snake, although some people argue that it should be.
Need another reason to not kill snakes? Did you know that most snake bites occur when people are messing with snakes, trying to kill them, or trying to catch them? The best thing to do is to leave the snake alone. Just go in the opposite direction of the snake, and it will probably do the same.
In Georgia, we have 41 native snakes. Only 6 of these 41 snakes are venomous, making it pretty easy to identify the ones that are. Our poisonous snakes include the Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake, Timber Rattlesnake (a.k.a Canebrake Rattlesnake), Pigmy Rattlesnake, Copperhead, Cottonmouth, and Coral snake.
Click here to see why non-venomous snakes can be beneficial.