海角大神

Each year in Sweetwater, Texas, over 30,000 visitors come to the rural town from near and far to see thousands of rattlesnakes.

Led by the city鈥檚 Junior Chamber of Commerce, referred to as the "Jaycees," Sweetwater鈥檚 annual 鈥淲orld鈥檚 Largest Rattlesnake Roundup,鈥� ends Sunday. At the roundup, fans watch the rattlesnakes slither together in a pit before handlers behead and skin the animals. And it鈥檚 not all watching: Visitors can participate by skinning the animals and making handprints on a wall with the snakes鈥� blood.

The Jaycees say the event is necessary to curb overpopulation, protect human safety, and keep local livestock alive.

According to the , 7,000 to 8,000 people are bitten by venomous snakes 鈥� including rattlesnakes, copperheads, coral snakes, and cottonmouths 鈥� each year in the US, and about five of these people die.

David Steen, an amphibian and reptiles biologist at Auburn University, tells The Washington Post that rattlesnakes typically bite only聽those who deliberately interfere with the snakes, such as professional exterminators and drunk people. Thus, the "human safety" argument is baseless.

鈥淚f you don鈥檛 do any of those things, ,鈥� says Steen. 鈥淲hat does a snake have to gain by attacking you? It鈥檚 not going to try to eat you. If we respect their place in the environment and also respect their space, then I think we can live alongside them with no problem at all."聽

And according to The Washington Post, the US Department of Agriculture didn鈥檛 record any .

But advocates also say the roundup is a tradition 鈥� and a profitable one.

Last year鈥檚 event brought in almost , report the Jaycees. Over 100 full time jobs were created for the event, and all sectors of the local economy appreciate the event鈥檚 business. Over $3.2 million was brought into local lodging establishments and almost $5 million was brought into local restaurants and retail shops.

If the roundup were banned, 鈥淚t would be a devastating blow to us,鈥� snake handler David Sager told the New York Times in 2014. 鈥淭he rattlesnake roundup is .鈥�

The Jaycees note that the snakes鈥� deaths are not in vain: Their meat is eaten and their skin and venom are sold.

And the money is always , say roundup proponents. As a nonprofit group, the Sweetwater Jaycees use the event鈥檚 revenue to feed local families on Thanksgiving, finance local development projects, and help local students.聽

鈥淚 love it and ,鈥� commented one visitor in the Jaycee鈥檚 2015 report. 鈥淚t鈥檚 been around for many years and can remember my grandparents taking us as kids, it鈥檚 nice to carry on the tradition with my own kids!鈥澛�

And the ecosystems are not in danger, say rattlesnake hunters. They say after years of rattlesnake round-ups, the population is as viable as ever.

鈥淲e鈥檙e not cutting the population any,鈥� Jaycee spokesman Rob McCann tells the Midland paper. 鈥淚鈥檝e been hunting the same dens for 25 years 鈥� the exact same dens. I get from 10 to 20 every year from the same dens.鈥�

But conservations refute the overpopulation argument as well.聽

鈥淟ike other wild animals with natural predators, snake populations are maintained by prey abundance (rodents) and levels of predation and disease,鈥� Melissa Amarello, co-founder of Advocates for Snake Preservation, . 鈥淏iologists and conservationists believe that roundups have contributed to the current decline in eastern diamondback rattlesnakes, which have been proposed for listing under the Endangered Species Act.鈥�

But cities like Claxton, Georgia, suggest a third way that may appease both rattlesnake handlers and animal rights advocates. Since 2012, Claxton鈥檚 rattlesnake roundup has involved no killing. Instead, handlers teach visitors about snake safety while rattlesnakes are available for viewing.

National Geographic says Claxton鈥檚 revised roundup is as ever. 聽

鈥淲e recognize that these festivals happen in small towns,鈥� Amarella, tells the . 鈥淚t鈥檚 a really important source of revenue for the local economy. It鈥檚 part of their culture and their tradition, and we don鈥檛 want to take all that away from them. We just want them to stop killing snakes at the roundup.鈥�