The catch snakes for you
There is a team of four fully certified and dedicated snake rescuers in the Goldfields. Their main objective is to safely remove and preserve snakes.
“Please do not kill, we will safely remove and relocate,” says Alet Pauw, one of the team.
To have a snake safely removed from your premises, contact Pauw on 083-626-4756, Hennie van der Walt on 079-487-0477, Frans de Coning on 083-630-6143 or Jay-T van Wijk on 072-112-1776.
Matjhabeng has four certified snake catchers who have made it their mission to preserve these reptiles and change the fear and perceptions surrounding snakes.
“We will safely remove and relocate snakes, please don’t kill them. Ninety per cent of the time people are engulfed and paralysed with fear when coming across a snake. People must remember that, more often than not, the snake is more terrified of you and will gladly stay out of your way,” says Alet Pauw, who has been catching snakes for three years. Pauw completed her training at the African Snakebite Institute (ASI).
All four snake catchers have received intense training.
Pauw, Hennie van der Walt, Frans de Coning and Jay-T van Wijk make a formidable team of snake enthusiasts who look after the welfare of the snakes.
Van der Walt, who has been interested in snakes since he was very young, says there is no such thing as a snake repellent.
“Snakes do not hunt us or seek us out. Encounters with snakes are by chance. Snakes will enter your home or shelter purely for food (mice and rats), water, or shelter.”
“Snakes do not hunt us or seek us out. Encounters with snakes are by chance. Snakes will enter your home or shelter purely for food (mice and rats), water, or shelter,” he says.
They say a snake will never approach, or strike at a human unless threatened. A snake’s natural instinct is to avoid humans.
Their advice to the public is to phone them immediately when finding a snake.
“Keep the snake in view (at a safe distance). Close the door to the room in which the snake is, or you can even throw a towel over it. This will create a safe place for the snake. Then you must immediately phone us and even send us a pin of your location,” says Van der Walt.
De Coning says he has been a snake catcher for some seven years.
“Snakes are usually very peaceful creatures and it takes a lot of patience and skill to catch one,” he says.
He reiterates that when confronted by a snake, people must not approach it, but just keep an eye on it so that it will be easy for the snake catcher to locate and catch.
