It's almost snake-killing day in Lake Providence, a tradition that makes snake lovers sad

quote:

---

It's almost snake-killing day in Lake Providence, a tradition that snake lovers wish would end

LINK

Long ago, the mythical serpent lured Eve and then Adam into doom with the promise of forbidden knowledge.

The result, according to Genesis, was of enmity between humans and reptiles. Snakes will strike at men's heels, while men will crush their heads, the story goes.

On Saturday, the people of Lake Providence will take that enmity onto the water. Armed with shotguns, they'll embark on a decades-old tradition that's drawn the ire of animal-rights groups: the snake rodeo, in which teams head out on the lake and shoot as many serpents as they can.

Lake Providence's rodeo, which dates to at least the 1960s, is not an annual event, but is called whenever local residents' tolerance for their scaly neighbors wanes, according to Sheriff Wydette Williams. This year's is the first since 2019 after subsequent ones were canceled by the pandemic, said Williams, whose office organizes the event.

The calls from residents for a rodeo often come in the spring, when the Mississippi River rises and drives more snakes into the lake, Williams said.

---

quote:

---

Snake lovers and others, however, have pleaded with the Sheriff to end the rodeo altogether or change the event so that the snakes aren't killed. They note that most of the snakes killed are diamondback watersnake, which aren't venomous.

They've urged Williams and others to follow the lead of some other snake roundups around the country, which have become no-kill events.

Williams has not been swayed, though he said he had nothing against those who want to protest the event.

"I welcome them," he said. "They have a right to be here."

The rodeo's rules are simple: two shotguns per boat, shoot as many snakes as you can over five hours, and then bring them back to the weigh-in at the end of the event.

---

quote:

---

Often, the snake that wins the prize for being the longest is a ratsnake, a nonvenomous snake that can grow to more than seven feet, Glorioso said.

---

quote:

---

In 2019, of the 134 snakes killed in the rodeo, 88 of them were Diamond-backed Watersnakes, according to numbers from the Advocates for Snake Preservation, which has called for the rodeo to end. Only 22 were Northern Cottonmouths, the venomous water moccasin that inspires fear. The others were all non-venomous species, including watersnakes, ratsnakes and kingsnakes, the group reported.

---

quote:

---

"You hear the tired old line that the only good snake is a dead snake," he said, asking what would people think if you replaced "snake" in that saying with "puppy."

---