SINNEMAHONING – “We’re on the rebound,” declares Bill Wheeler
Jr., who has been spearheading the effort to keep alive a
Pennsylvania tradition – rattlesnake hunting.

Under pressure from animal rights groups and the Pennsylvania
Fish and Boat Commission, Wheeler and other leaders of the Keystone
Reptile Club have made many changes in their organized snake
hunts.

One of those concessions, the elimination of “rattlesnake
sacking contests” in 2006, led to a decreased attendance last year.
The turnout at this past weekend’s Sinnemahoning Snake Hunt and the
interest already shown in the Cross Fork Snake Hunt on the June
23-24 weekend tells Wheeler that the new brand of snake hunt is a
keeper.

“Sure, we’ve heard complaints, but I’m absolutely convinced that
it was the right decision – and that’s coming from a guy who has
probably participated in more snake-sacking contests than anyone,”
said Wheeler, a Spring Grove resident who has assumed the Keystone
Reptile Club mantle from his father.

There’s no doubt that the contests were crowd-pleasers. Teams of
two would enter a pit with five live rattlesnakes and race the
clock to corral them in a burlap sack. The fastest teams earned
prizes.

Occasionally, there were snakebites, which can cause intense
pain and disfigurement and are potentially fatal.

“It became impossible to get insurance because, let’s face it,
rattlesnake-sacking is an extreme sport,” Wheeler said. “Just one
claim could have destroyed the Keystone Reptile and maybe even one
of the fire companies or other organizations that sponsor the snake
hunts.

“But the biggest reason we eliminated the sacking contests was
the message that they sent,” he continued. “Our club tries to
educate the public about proper snake-handling techniques and
treating the species with respect. The sacking contests didn’t
really fit in with that.”

Wheeler said his club has made other changes to adapt to new
Fish and Boat Commission regulations designed to protect the timber
rattlesnake, which carries an official designation of “candidate
species” for endangered status in Pennsylvania.

Habitat destruction, taking of snakes by collectors and the
killing of snakes in casual encounters have all diminished the
reptiles’ numbers and range, the agency reports.

The commission limits the harvest of timber rattlers to one a
year.

Hunters must be licensed and may participate in only one
organized event per year. They’re also prohibited from taking
snakes that are under 42 inches.

The size restriction is designed to protect female snakes, which
typically are smaller than the males.

Female timber rattlesnakes need at least eight years to reach
reproductive maturity.

Despite the restrictions, some 60 hunters registered for the
Sinnemahoning event, sponsored Sinnemahoning Sportsmen’s Club.
There were just eight rattlesnakes entered in the contest. Top
prize for the longest snake went to Tommy Wise of Lock Haven, who
brought in a yellow-phase rattler measure 47 1/2 inches.

Wheeler and other Keystone Reptile Club members will be back in
the snake pit June 23-24 during the Cross Fork Snake Hunt.