Your calls, letters, and signatures put an end to the unethical slaughter and waste of wildlife at the Lake Providence Snake Rodeo. Your voice matters — together we stopped a 60-year old snake-killing contest!
Thanks to YOU, wildlife-killing contests that target reptiles and amphibians are BANNED in Louisiana.
About the rodeo
From the mid-1960s until 2024, thousands of snakes were shot as they basked at the Lake Providence Snake Rodeo in northeast Louisiana. Participants shot an unlimited number of snakes from their boats and were awarded prizes for killing the most and longest snakes.
Our campaign to end the rodeo
In 2018, Louisiana Amphibian and Reptile Enthusiasts reached out to Advocates for Snake Preservation for help ending this horrific event. Together with our collective supporters, we submitted thousands of letters, emails, petition signatures, and testified before the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission.
In late 2023, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries proposed a suite of stronger protections for reptiles and amphibians. One amendment prohibited events that wantonly or willfully waste amphibians or reptiles, like the Lake Providence Snake Rodeo. Despite strong opposition from those exploiting wild animals for profit, state herpetologist Keri Lejeune kept pushing to pass these protections. In November 2024, the wildlife commission voted to adopt the amendments and in January 2025, they were written into law.
The unethical slaughter and waste of wildlife at the Lake Providence Snake Rodeo must end IS OVER.
Louisiana Amphibian and Reptile Enthusiasts
End The Lake Providence Snake Rodeo was a collaboration with Louisiana Amphibian and Reptile Enthusiasts. Want to learn more about snakes and other reptiles and amphibians in Louisiana? Check out their website: Amphibians and Reptiles of Louisiana: a guide to the natural history and identification of herptiles in The Pelican State.
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