Rattlesnake Roundup

The Rattlesnake Roundup in Sweetwater, Texas has been an annual western diamondback rattlesnake exploitation and killing event held during the second weekend of March since 1958. This is the largest and cruelest event of it's kind in the world and is put on by the Sweetwater Jaycees at the Nolan County Coliseum. Although there has been significant controversy surrounding the event for many years, it still remains extremely popular to this day and attracts visitors from all over the country and abroad. According to the event's official website, Sweetwater has a population of about approximately 11,000 residents, but during the Rattlesnake Roundup the town reaches a population size of approximately 40,000 people who come to celebrate violence and disregard towards snakes.

The Rattlesnake Roundup offers plenty of grotesque options for people to watch or participate in, including a killing pit where rattlesnakes are decapitated and their still alive and conscious heads are dumped together into a bucket, a skinning pit where the still writhing snake bodies are skinned, a milking pit where venom that isn't actually used for anything is extracted, a snake pit where thousands of snakes are commingled and on top of each other, an agitation show where snakes are taunted into biting balloons, a fried rattlesnake eating contest, and the option to go on guided rattlesnake hunts that takes place in a separate location. Visitors can also buy a wide range of products from vendors that sell things solely made from snakes and concession stands sell fried rattlesnake. 

Before and during the event snake hunters sell thousands of pounds of rattlesnakes to the Sweetwater Jaycees. There are awards for the most pounds of snakes caught by an individual and for the longest snake caught by someone. The snake hunters pump gasoline fumes and liquid into the snakes burrows, which causes the snakes to escape and then makes them easy prey for the hunters. The gasoline can cause significant harm to many other non-target animals, which ultimately causes death to lots of other species.

The original rounding up of the snakes took place when animal farmers thought the native snakes posed a risk to their non-native "livestock" and themselves. But rattlesnake bites have always been exceedingly rare to humans and especially to "livestock." Rattlesnakes are solitary animals who spend time alone, don't hunt humans and large animals down, and they keep rodent populations in check. When the living quarters for rattlesnakes are tarnished or destroyed by humans, such as gassing their dens, that's when the snakes have the potential to come closer towards where humans are gathered. 

Rattlesnakes make a rattling sound to warn someone that they're getting too close to them or stressing them out. Just like with sharks, the threat to humans is greatly exaggerated and distorted while the threat humans pose to them is enormously underacknowledged. The organizers of the Rattlesnake Roundup thought that by holding this annual event they'd be able to drastically reduce the population of the snakes and that there would be less occurrences of snake bites, but there has yet to be a correlation between these events happening and less snake bites occurring and a significant decrease in population sizes. As with so many other events and businesses that take animals out of their native homes and force them into torturous captive settings, educating the public is used as their main justification when in reality the motives are entertainment and above all else--profit. 

Visitors are under the impression that the snakes have been captured recently and from Sweetwater and other nearby areas, but many of the snakes are captured months before the event even begins and they can come from hundreds of miles outside of Sweetwater. Once the snakes are captured they are never given any food, water, or daylight.  

The public is lied to about how the venom “milked” from the snakes at the event is used to make anti-venom. The major producers of antivenin don't actually accept venom or snakes for that matter from rattlesnake roundup events or other outside sources. Companies that make antivenin and vaccines or otherwise do medical research solely rely on snakes that are captive bred and kept inside of a laboratory. This can be verified on the Texas Park and Wildlife Department Snake Harvest Working Group Report.

Despite the Rattlesnake Roundup being considered a family friendly event, the organizers, staff, and attendees don't shy away from killing and skinning endless snakes in front of children and even creating murals with their bloody handprints on the wall. Children and probably many adults must believe that when the snakes are decapitated they die instantly, but this is not how it actually works. Snakes can remain alive and conscious for upwards of about an hour after they die, still capable of being sensitive to pain, fear, and distress. 

There are many other rattlesnake roundups around the country, but the one held in Sweetwater is more cruel than the rest of them. Some other roundups have relied on gasoline to capture and collect their snakes, but this has been phased out in many places due to the damage to the environment and the embracing of alternatives. Not all roundups kill the snakes they capture, some bring the snakes to the event for entertainment and education purposes, and then they return the snakes back to their original collection point. It's never humane to needlessly take an animal out of their home solely for human interests, but when they're returned it's a lot better than being decapitated and skinned for human amusement and profit.