Rattlesnake Roundups (2024)

Together We Can Stop the Snake Slaughter:

Contact the Sweetwater Jaycees and ask them to replace the roundup with a no-kill, educational festival that celebrates wildlife instead of slaughtering them.

Discuss this with your family, friends, and neighbors: Share this page on Twitter and Facebook or the videos here.

Write a letter to the editor of your local paper, especially if you live near a rattlesnake roundup. Use some of these facts about rattlesnake roundups.

Old school: download, print, and distribute this factsheet.

Interested in participating in future projects like Rattlesnake Love Letters?
Fill out this form and let us know!

What’s a Rattlesnake Roundup?

Each year, tens of thousands of rattlesnakes are taken from the wild to be displayed and slaughtered for entertainment and profit at rattlesnake roundups. Professional hunters, not bound by ‘bag’ or ‘take’ limits, remove snakes from their native habitats and are awarded with cash prizes for bringing in the most and biggest snakes. Most snakes are caught by pouring gasoline into their winter dens, which pollutes surrounding land and water and may impact up to 350 other wildlife species.

Science does not support claims that roundups are required to prevent rattlesnake overpopulation. Like other wild animals with natural predators, snake populations are maintained by prey abundance (rodents) and levels of predation and disease. Unlike traditional game hunting, there is no monitoring or reporting to regulate this slaughter of snakes, which has likely contributed to the decline in some rattlesnake species. Learn more.

Rattlesnakes Are Actually Awesome!

AT RATTLESNAKE ROUNDUPS, CRUELTY IS BUSINESS AS USUAL

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See more photos.

WHERE DOES YOUR RATTLESNAKE MEAT COME FROM?

There are no rattlesnake farms. The largest source of commercially available meat is Rattlesnake Roundups. Learn more.

WHERE IN THE WORLD ARE RATTLESNAKE ROUNDUPS?

In the United States, there are 13 rattlesnake roundups and 1 snake rodeo where wild snakes are taken from their home to be killed or sold for slaughter (skull and crossbones icons on the map). Some roundups have evolved into educational festivals where no snakes are killed (heart icons on the map). Are we missing anything? Pleaselet us know!

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Read more statements from experts about rattlesnake roundups.

THE SECRET LIVES OF SNAKES

Rattlesnake Roundups (2024)
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