He supported them because he wanted later to make a treaty with panama to construct the panama canal.
Snakes are beautiful, and they help control the growth of other organisms in their ecosystem. They are seen as a bad organism because of all the propaganda the press has made, when a snake bites someone, the press uses that to propagate the bad feeling for snakes. All those bites would be prevented if people were more careful, so it's not the snake fault.
Have a nice day! :)
