travel and rhum

Okay so there’s a surge in the rattlesnake population in my area right now. The park district issued an advisory/warning. I’ve almost stepped on one while hiking with my bf and dog three times in the last few weeks. I’ve never encountered a snake on these trails before. Each time my boyfriend (who is Burmese and grew up in the jungle and saw many friends die or have limbs amputated due to snake bites and is understandably paranoid about snakes) uses his ever-present forked walking stick to lift/shoo the snake off the side of the trail.

Last time he did it we were in a park with multiple groups of school children on field trips. My question is: is it better to ignore/walk around the snake and hope nobody else accidentally steps on them? Or jostle/ toss the snake into the brush, risking agitating it and possible making it more aggressive and bitey? But it would surely bite anyway if some kids stepped on it or started surrounding it on the trail…