These “festivities” have been taking place in the small West Texas town for 60 years. After being dropped off at the county fairgrounds, the snakes are weighed, measured, and milked for venom before they are tossed into pits—a stressful experience for the solitary animals, which respond by biting and defecating on each other as snake handlers stir the teeming masses to prevent suffocation. Mobs of onlookers from around the world await the ritual reptile decapitation, some with cellphones raised to capture the moment and snap a selfie with a bloodied stump. The still-writhing bodies are skinned for accessories, flayed for meat (Southern fried snake is available at the concession stand with fries and a soft drink), and the organs collected to sell overseas. For a small fee, children can try their hand at stripping snake skins and add their bloody handprints to the event’s mural. High school beauty queens join in with perfectly coiffed curls and smiles to compete for the coveted title of Miss Snake Charmer.
The Sweetwater Rattlesnake Roundup started this Thursday and will continue through the weekend. A $60 weekend pass will give the expected 40,000 visitors access to the bloody spectacle—plus carnival rides.