We spend quite a lot of time on social media especially Facebook which is where the majority of our customer base comes from, and have noticed a lot of arguments the past few years over people charging to rescue reptiles. I decided to share my own personal experience and story regarding this situation. And this will be broken down into two parts whilst being as honest and as blunt/straightforward as possible:

1) Do we charge to rescue/remove reptiles:
Yes, we charge a minor call-out fee of R200 to our local area. Should the rescue/removal be outside our local area then naturally this price will increase slightly.

2) Why do we charge to rescue/remove reptiles:
There are quite a number of reasons that we will get to, however, the main reason is simply that this is a dangerous possibly life threatening service and also that people are paying for our time and expertise.

Aren't you doing this for the animals? So why charge? You may ask.
Yes, we are doing this for the animals, and to answer your second question, we are pretty much forced to charge.

Not everyone has the funding to offer a service like this for free, trust me when I say this, if we were fortunate enough to be sponsored by some government organisation or any organisation for that matter to help our community in these situations, then we would do it for free. From the very beginning when I started Helderberg Snake rescue a few years ago I mentioned that I would be offering the service for free to my local community, which I did, for an entire year, pretty much relying on donations only (Yes, without asking a fee), and at the start, I did mention that I would see how things go for that year of offering the service for free. So where did I end up? Well, I'll tell you.

On many of the call-outs I had throughout that year of free service, I temporarily wasn't even able to attend, and the reason being: "I'm sorry I don't have petrol to be able to help you, I apologise." More than 90% of people, in this case, would then offer a donation just to be able to rescue/remove the potentially deadly snake in their garden/house. So what does this tell you? That one is not willing to pay for a service, but as soon as they find out that no help is available, then the wallets come out to try to persuade you (Even though you technically do not want their money, and that you feel bad for doing it).

I personally hate charging for call-outs but to be able to do it. I am literally forced to.

How can petrol be the only thing though? You may still ask.

It isn't. What many people don't seem to know is this:
1) Numerous calls may have to be made trying to get directions to your house. Which costs me;
2) Driving around causes wear and tear on my car, which in turn will need to be serviced, which costs me;
3) It's not only my trip to your house but also my trip to a natural area to release the snake and then a trip back home, which costs me;
4) Should I be bitten by a potentially deadly snake, hospital bills would be excessively expensive, which would cost me. (Would this be your fault? No, unless you did something silly while I was working. It is at my own risk assisting you, but accidents may happen)
5) A call-out can take anywhere from a few seconds to a matter of hours.
6) You are paying for my time and expertise.
7) We all have rent, food etc to pay, which costs us.

A reasonably good example is this: Your geyser decides to blow in your house, and you have to call a Plumber to fix it before it destroys everything in its wake. The Plumber is going to charge you a handsome fee regardless if he was there for 30 seconds or 3 hours to fix the problem especially if it is after hours (Our fee stays the same no matter what time of day it is). He is offering a professional service (we hope), but the problem clearly would need to be fixed. So what is the actual difference between a Plumbing service and a snake removal service?. Well obviously the one fixes plumbing and the other catches snakes, but it is still a professional service. Is Plumbing a dangerous job? I highly doubt it (The chances of the Geyser falling out the roof on top of your head and killing you? Considering it is generally bolted to the trusses etc on the ceiling foundation, I would give that a strong 1%) Not any Tom, Dick or Harry can pick up a pair of snake hooks/tongs and remove a potentially deadly snake from their living room, theoretically you could but it wouldn't be the smartest idea. We are trained, we have the knowledge and experience and we are the ones risking it when we assist you. (Chances of being bit by a potentially deadly snake on a call-out? well, either you will or you won't be bitten. That's a pretty solid 50%). So that's my example.

Among these things, you need to remember that every time I do a call-out, I am risking my life to possibly save the life, not only of the snake but that of yours, your pet or your child. So what's more important? A measly R200 to cover my expenses? or death or the thousands of Rand which may ensue in the hospital that follows? Now I'm not trying to be nasty when I say this, I'm simply trying to be as straightforward as possible and possibly opening your mind to the greater picture of the choice you may make. You just have to think of it logically.

What we have noticed over the years is that the odd 10% of remaining people who are not willing to pay or even bother calling would rather kill the snake instead. And being a human being, it's up to you to make that decision. Snakes play a vital role in the ecosystem, a snake's venom was never designed to naturally kill a human being but rather the prey they feed on.

As I mentioned earlier, I really despise charging to offer this service, I'm not in it for the money. All I care about is the safety of said reptile, and even more importantly the safety of you and your families life.

Some of you may agree, some of you may disagree. At the end of the day, it's entirely up to you to decide whether or not you accept our call-out fee when phoning. :) We are always willing to offer an alternative, or look for someone else to assist you should we be out of your area or if you can't afford our fee and we really can't afford to come out.

Here are a few things you may or may not have known:

* We don't charge if people have already caught the snake (unless it's way out of our area)
* We don't charge if the police or fire brigade calls us (and are on scene)
* We don't charge if the SPCA or Animal Welfare calls us. (once again, unless it's way out of our area)
* We don't charge doing shows or educational talks for schools (once again if the school is in our area)
* We don't charge if the call-out is literally down the road from us.

I hope you will have a better understanding of where we are coming from after my story.

I can't begin to thank everyone enough for the continued support. The Helderberg Basin and nearby surrounding areas are the backbones of Helderberg Snake Rescue and without your support, we wouldn't even exist or continue to improve.