RATTLESNAKE DERBY RUFFLING ACTIVISTS' FEATHERS

RATTLESNAKE DERBY RUFFLING ACTIVISTS' FEATHERS

MANGUM, Okla. (Wireless Flash) -- Organizers of a "Rattlesnake Derby" in Mangum, Oklahoma, are being dogged by animal activists. The derby, which starts tomorrow (Apr. 28), is a contest to see who can collect the most rattlesnakes. But animal activists are accusing the organizers of cruelty because most of the rattlesnakes wind up with their heads chopped off and what's left behind is fried and eaten by locals. Derby spokesman Jack Cossey claims the contest doesn't affect the local rattlesnake population at all, because "...in Mangum, there are more rattlesnakes than people." Last year, contestants gathered and grilled about 1000 rattlers.