Thousands of the scaly, slithering reptiles will be on display Saturday and Sundaywhen the 45th American Business Club-sponsored Rattlesnake Roundup will be held in the Howard County Fair barns.

The event begins with weigh-in of snakes at 1 p.m. today, while public show times will be from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. Saturday and noon until 4 p.m. Sunday. Admission is $5 for adults and $3 for children ages 4 through 11.

The event took a year off in 2008 because the dates conflicted with the Easter holiday.

“That's just not a good time to hold a rattlesnake roundup,” said Dennis Burns, a coordinator for the event.

Despite the one-year sabbatical, interest in the event remains high, Burns added.

“A lot of people have been asking about it,” he said. “And we've gotten a lot of response from hunters. People seem to understand why we didn't have one last year.”

This year's roundup will feature many of the same attractions as past events, including handling and milking demonstrations, snake races and vendors.

Fried rattlesnake, which is said to taste remarkably like chicken, also will be for sale.

Another major attraction at past events, professional snake handler Jackie Bibby, also will be back again this year, Burns said.

The event is a hard one to describe to someone who's never seen a rattlesnake roundup, Burns said.

“I usually just tell them to come out and see it,” he said. “It's really more educational than anything. We teach people what to do and what not to do and how to behave around the snakes.”

Extracting venom from the snakes also has a medical benefit, he added.

“Almost all heart attack and stroke medicine has its roots in rattlesnake venom,” Burns said. Venom collected at this year's event will be sold to BioTech, a medical firm, for further research.

For more information on the roundup, contact Burns at 270-3409.

Contact Staff Writer Steve Reagan at 263-7331 ext. 234 or by e-mail at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it