Wendy Townsend : 4,000 pounds of rattlesnakes slaughtered at Jaycee event . The first time I saw a rattlesnake was in the early 1970s. Snakes are sick , they suffocate ; hundreds are in piles , tormented . A rattlesnake 's face gives almost no clue to its experience of fear or pain , making it hard for most people to feel empathy . She says kids skin decapitated snakes ; then press bloody handprints on a wall . Townsend : Other fundraisers have changed and focus on celebrating snakes as an icon .
Wendy Townsend : 4,000 pounds of rattlesnakes slaughtered at Jaycee event . The first time I saw a rattlesnake was in the early 1970s. Snakes are sick , they suffocate ; hundreds are in piles , tormented . She says kids skin decapitated snakes ; then press bloody handprints on a wall . Townsend : Other fundraisers have changed and focus on celebrating snakes as an icon .