The Lone Star Fair and Expo featuring the 48th Annual Rattlesnake Round-Up will be at the Brownwood Coliseum this weekend, Friday through Sunday. Hours of the show are Friday 3pm-8pm, Saturday 10am-8pm and Sunday noon-5pm. Tickets are $4 for adults and $1 for kids under 12.
Organizers state that Jackie Bibby, “The Texas Snake Man” and star of Animal Planet’s “Rattlesnake Republic,” will be the featured in “death defying feats of courage with rattlesnakes.” “Cowboys Last Ride” rattlesnakes in the coffin, “Most Rattlesnakes in the Sleeping Bag”, and Longest Snake Contest competitions will be on the schedule of events along with the Ripley’s Believe It or Not. Vendors will also be on hand buying snakes.
An arts and crafts show with booths of crafts, coins, jewelry, knives, guns and foods will also be going on during the round up. “Rattlesnake and Taters” meals are available for $5/plate and organizers state those who partake can claim, “I bit the snake and it didn’t bite me back.”
Part of the round-up, milking the rattlesnakes, will be performed by Dennis Cumby of Bio Active Laboratories of Gordon, Alabama. According to Bio Active’s owner Ken Darnell, 95% of the world’s supply of Western Diamondback venom used to make the antivenom to treat rattlesnake bites is collected at Texas rattlesnake round-ups. Darnell explained that the venom is processed into a dry powder which is also used to make drugs, such as Captopril used to treat high blood pressure, diabetic medication Byetta and even a drug, Integrilin, that is used to treat heart attacks and stroke. Darnell stated that the powder is also used for other medical research.
Darnell expressed concern of governmental protection of the rattlesnake, which may in the future prohibit these round-ups, which are the source of the venom his laboratory and many others use.
“State government is doing its best to shut down these round-ups, making it very difficult for vendors to obtain rattlesnakes for their products,” said Darnell. “There’s no shortage of diamondbacks, but it’s getting more and more difficult to keep these dealers in business. I worry that without vendors and these round-ups, will we still be able to supply venom to produce the antivenom.”
Darnell explained the importance of the antivenom and his concerns.
“Anyone bit by a rattlesnake, the only medication for recovery is the antivenom,” Darnell said. “If Texas doesn’t ease up on this effort to prohibit these round-ups, we may see ERs with people waiting for treatment but no medication to treat them.”
According to Darnell, the western diamondback, eastern diamond back, water moccasin and Mohave diamond back venoms are needed in the manufacture of antivenom. He stated that these venoms are injected into sheep, which are able to produce an antibody to fight the effects of such venom, which is used to make the antivenom.
Darnell stated that he has been in the venom collecting business for approximately 35 years. He travels to many rattlesnake round-ups across Texas, collecting Western Diamondback venom and in Alabama collects the Eastern Diamondback venom for his laboratory customers.
“Once a little girl asked me at a round-up if it was fun milking the snakes, and I had to think about it for a while,” said Darnell. “I had never thought once if this was fun, but it is fun. Not only am I doing something I enjoy, but I’m doing something that is doing some good for someone else.”
Darnell said that he won’t personally be able to make it to this year’s round-up but that he enjoys travelling to Brownwood. In fact, one of Darnell’s favorite things is to “watch that tortilla factory work” (Ricardo’s Tortilla Factory) and that he enjoys the people of Brownwood.
Pictured above is Jackie Bibbie modeling a rattlesnake on his head.
