HARRISBURG (TNS) — The short season of organized rattlesnake hunts gets underway this weekend, with two of the four remaining organized hunts in Pennsylvania.
Both the Sinnemahoning Sportsmen’s Association Rattlesnake Hunt and the Morris Rattlesnake Roundup are scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, less than 50 miles apart.
The Sinnemahoning Sportsmen’s Association hosts the Cameron County hunt from 8 a.m. to sunset each day. In addition to the hunters bringing in their captured timber rattlesnakes for measuring in the show ring, the event includes a Kids Pit of non-venomous snakes, a chicken barbecue and live music.
Morris Township Fire Company will again run the 66th annual (skipping a pandemic year) hunt in Tioga County. The weekend includes a flea market, one-pitch softball tournament, local performers and fireworks.
The Noxen Volunteer Fire Company Rattlesnake Round-up in Noxen, Wyoming County, has incorporated more of a fire company carnival into the event than any of the other snake hunts. It’s set for June 18-19.
The last of the 2022 rattlesnake hunts in Pennsylvania will be the 49th annual Cross Fork Snake Hunt Saturday and Sunday, June 25-26, in Cross Fork, Potter County. Hosted by Kettle Creek Hose Company No. 1, the weekend also will feature a fireman’s parade, horseshoe tournament and non-poisonous and exotic snake show.
Many small towns across Pennsylvania held annual rattlesnake roundups and hunts a few decades ago, but the number of organized, public-spectator hunts in Pennsylvania has dwindled to just four.
Beyond the four organized rattlesnake hunts, Pennsylvania has a season for properly licensed individuals hunting timber rattlesnakes and northern copperheads that runs from the second Saturday of June through July 31.
The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission offers venomous snake-hunting permits online for a fee of $25 for a resident and $50 for a non-resident. An applicant must first purchase a Pennsylvania fishing license.
A permitted hunter may annually “take, kill or possess” only one timber rattlesnake at least 42 inches long and having 21 or more subcaudal scales, which are the large, flat scales on the underside of the snake between its vent and the base of its rattle. That requirement is intended to protect female timber rattlesnakes, which have fewer than 21 subcaudal scales.
The permitted hunter also may “take, kill or possess” one copperhead per year.
The permit includes a tag that the hunter must complete upon “taking, killing or possessing” a rattlesnake and keep available as long as he has the snake.
The hunter also must file an annual report with the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission.
No one may hunt, take, catch or kill timber rattlesnakes west of Route 15 and south of Interstate 81 to the Maryland line, where there is no open season.
Timber rattlesnakes in that area appear to constitute a genetically distinct population, separated from other populations by busy highways, housing development and other human impacts on the land.
