Animal rights activists praised an annual rattlesnake roundup in south Georgia that recently changed the format of this month’s event to celebrate living snakes without skinning and butchering them
. The town of 11,000 is expected to swell to around 30,000 during the festival that runs Friday through Sunday, said Dennis Cumbie, one of the organizers.Sweetwater has held its rattlesnake roundup for more than six decades, “and what we have figured out over 64 years is that we're not damaging the population of the snakes whatsoever,” Cumbie said. Rather, organizers liken snake hunting to how other hunters keep deer numbers in check.
Then came perfect weather for the one-day Georgia show, “and there were no complaints whatsoever," he said. “We probably had more actual snakes there this year, even though it was a different format than what we've had.” Karen Hunt grew up in Sweetwater, and recalls fellow Texans asking her about her hometown. “Yes, we're the rattlesnake town,” they would say. Now, as director of the Sweetwater and Nolan County Chamber of Commerce, Hunt fields calls from people in England, Germany and other parts of the world inquiring about the festival and making plans to visit.
Hunters gather the snakes — there's a contest for those capturing the largest ones — and they're brought to the Nolan County Coliseum, where multiple parts of the snakes are harvested, Cumbie said. He's the chairman of the milking pit, where venom is extracted and then used to develop various drugs for a range of illnesses. The snakes' skins will eventually show up on cowboy boots, belts and other western wear. Rattles are used for souvenirs, as are the heads, Cumbie said.
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