Rattlesnake Roundups Are Cruel to Snakes

I never fail to be amazed at the nasty ways otherwise nice people can dream up-especially if money is involved-to torment animals. Rattlesnake roundups are one example. They occur in a number of states, including Texas, Kansas, Oklahoma, Georgia and Alabama. Rattlesnake roundups began back in the 1930's in Oklahoma as rattlesnake catching drives, eventually becoming publicity events for chambers of commerce. Rattlesnake hunters would sell their catches of snakes to the organizing groups. Ranchers contributed money as a "reward" for getting rid of rattlesnakes, which they erroneously believed to be a severe threat to their cash cows. Snakes were decapitated and discarded by the thousands at local dumps. Rattlesnake hunters who were bitten or caught the largest snake during the drive were given awards. In the ensuing years, the drives evolved into the roundups of today.

In my state of New Mexico, the annual Alamogordo Rattlesnake Roundup draws hundreds of tourists. As many as a thousand snakes are brought in by a handful of rattlesnake hunters, most of them Western Diamondbacks. Unfortunately their hunting is unregulated, and so the surviving numbers of Diamondbacks are unknown. Rattlesnakes, like any other wild creature, are crucial to the functioning of a healthy ecosystem. That's just one of many reasons rattlesnake roundups are no good for snakes or for humans.

In a 1994 survey of rattlesnake hunters, 55% admitted they hunted on public lands, which is illegal without permission. Seventy-three percent said they collected their snakes a season before or after the roundup, which means they stockpile snakes for the roundup or collect them for other purposes, such as selling their skins and body parts. If the snakes survive capture, which may involve using fishhooks or gasoline, they are warehoused together for long periods without food or water and transported in trashcans, boxes and other enclosures. Under these unnatural conditions they will often crush or bite each other.

At a typical roundup, rattlesnakes are harassed in a number of ways by snake handlers in a brutal display of brainless machismo, including dropping, kicking, grabbing, burning with cigarettes, teasing into striking, and prodding them into various stupid tricks. For photo ops, snake handlers will sew the mouths of live snakes shut with wire. Snake handlers have been bitten repeatedly at roundups. Adults and children are often invited to handle them and are also bitten, especially in so-called sacking contests that involve jamming snakes into bags as fast as possible. The same snakes are repeatedly sacked, causing broken ribs and jaws. In nature, rattlesnakes will not bite humans unless they feel threatened. Other sadistic events are rattlesnake stomping contests and shooting contests, which result in many snake deaths.

"Safety talks" at roundups are anything but educational, featuring the snake handler deliberately irritating the snake (picking it up with bare hands, crawling into a rattlesnake-filled sleeping bag, making a snake strike the snake handler's boots or a balloon, walking through a number of rattlesnakes barefoot, cornering a snake, pinning a snake down to show its fangs, etc.) These maneuvers are hazardous for the snake handler, send the wrong message to the public about how to handle a rattlesnake, and often result in injury or death of the snake. The message for children is that cruelty to rattlesnakes is acceptable. At some roundups, kids are encouraged to hold the still-beating hearts of newly decapitated rattlers as well as their heads, which can remain alive and capable of biting for over an hour.

Roundup snake handlers often claim that they perform a public service because the venom that is milked from the rattlesnakes is used in the production of antivenin. This is nonsense. There is no quality control in the completely non-sterile environment of a roundup, so the venom is not acceptable to a toxicology lab.

Rattlesnakes are often slaughtered at a roundup and their meat sold to the public, but the meat may sit around for a long time before it's offered for sale. It may also be contaminated with the gasoline that is sometimes used to flush the snakes out of their dens. In addition, it can carry parasites such as salmonella if it is not cooked properly.

There's nothing remotely educational or entertaining about a rattlesnake roundup. It's just an excuse to make a few bucks torturing and killing a beautiful creature that has just as much right to live on our planet as any other. If there is a rattlesnake roundup in your area, write to the sponsors of the event asking them to withdraw their support. If the proceeds of the roundup go to a charity, let that charity know how dangerous and cruel roundups are. Encourage them to help the community create animal cruelty-free fundraisers. Send a letter to the editor of your local newspaper to inform readers about what really goes on at roundups. Lastly, contact your state or local regulatory agency and request that it work to put an end to rattlesnake roundups.