Each year, thousands of rattlesnakes are taken from the wild to be displayed and slaughtered for entertainment and profit at rattlesnake roundups in Alabama, Georgia, Oklahoma, and Texas.

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. 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. In sharp contrast to claims made by roundup proponents, rattlesnakes pose little threat to humans or livestock: fewer than five people die in the US from snakebite each year and no sheep or cattle deaths have been recorded in more than 25 years.

Historical campaigns to eradicate large predators like wolves and grizzlies are now generally regarded as barbaric and most people welcome new efforts to restore these animals to their former domains. But efforts to eradicate rattlesnakes continue, and the attitudes that perpetuate them are largely misinformed.*

Rattlesnake roundups now have the opportunity to respond to critical environmental and conservation concerns, as others have done, by celebrating our native wildlife instead of slaughtering them. Join us in asking rattlesnakes roundups to Stop Slaughtering Snakes.

*Get the facts about rattlesnake roundups: RattlesnakeRoundups.com/faq