Snake catcher fed up by non-payers

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moosenoose

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Published On: 12-17-2009
Source: NewsMail

UNLESS people start paying up, experienced snake catcher Anthony Zink will be forced to shut up shop.

Mr Zink said he could no longer afford the running costs of his four-wheel drive, considering he was currently owed call-out fees for 15 jobs across the region.

For the low cost of $25 within Bundaberg and $30 for the surrounding region, Mr Zink responds to calls to remove snakes and goannas and releases them 40km out of town in bushland, out of harm’s way.

BNM_17-12-2009_EGN_02_snake1612a_t325.jpg


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Some people are just tight mongrels!! I know what I'd be doing if people hadn't paid me the miserable amount this poor chap charges. And I wouldn't be releasing them back into their back gardens either :lol:
 
Wow that's cheap! Damn scungy people... sad for people to not pay the bloke, he's saving our fauna from the weapons of the garden shed.
 
Maybe he should also make clear in his add that its a $30 fee - that way he wont get called out unless people are aware of and prepared to pay the bill.
 
here in nsw its free, If people dont pay, who cares, atleast the snake is getting saved, do it for the love not the money!
 
The barefoot wrangler said there had been an “explosion of brown snakes” recently, adding to the need for his service.
Barefoot brownsnake catching, id pay just to see that.
Sounds like fun.
I did a callout at a local winery last year and was paid nicely with a few bottles of red.
Barter system is alive and well on the peninsula.
If he is releasing them 40 kms out of town though, isnt the genetic information for each locality going to get muddled?
 
here in nsw its free, If people dont pay, who cares, atleast the snake is getting saved, do it for the love not the money!


The added fuel and running costs of his 4WD to take them out bush after picking them up is costing him too much money to do.
 
A better idea would be the customer pays for each km from their house you release them, non payer have them let go in their letter boxes :lol:
 
seriously though, if you have to get another job do it, no need to winge about it, you should be rescuing snakes for the love of the animal anyway....
 
seriously though, if you have to get another job do it, no need to winge about it, you should be rescuing snakes for the love of the animal anyway....

Why? If you go out of your way to get your permit, purchase equipment, have a reliable vehicle, make yourself available 24/7 so they don't have to do the 10.30pm ring around to find someone who will come and get it, pay for advertising, pay for business cards, mobile phone etc, why not make some money out of it?

The guy's doing it for a bargain - when I was doing it, it was a minimum charge of $70 just to make it worth my time. You pay for convenience.
 
lol, trust a qld rescuer to jump up and down with what I wrote, next the victorians will have me cornered :lol: not saying there is anything wrong with making maney from it, but stop winging if it all doesn't work out the way you planned, animals health always comes before money doesn't it?
 
besides, most herpers already have all the stuff and spend huge amounts of time and dollars driving around looking for herps anyway lol...
 
Regardless of how far the animals are being relocated to, the thing is the guy is performing a public service at a fraction of the price many charge - but still there are people willing to rip someone off for 30 bucks!! Really ordinary IMO! If his business does go under, then they can all enjoy being charged at a higher rate!

I still firmly believe councils should help foot the bill for community call-outs like these. The main positive is actually seeing governments putting their money where their mouth is in relation to protecting native wildlife. Start fining the ones who are purposefully killing these creatures and get them to help foot the bill on funded relocations! Why should the public have to foot the bill 3 times a week at $300-$400 etc etc for relocations, or then take the matter into their own hands and have to duck and weave thinking about the prospect of being fined for killing native wildlife? Not that anyone does get fined, because nobody genuinely cares! Ring the RSPCA and tell them you’ve shovelled one…they’d probably send an official out with a nice big bravery medal for you! :lol:

Some are saying to "do it for the love of the animal", quite frankly I reckon he is at those prices. His fuel bill would chew up most of his charge rate.
 
Its how buisness works, you provide a service that people need, they pay you so you can continue to provide said service, easy! Its how the world works, and has done for a very long time. Unfortunately, some people are just stooges
 
What system do people think works best?
Qld's/Vic user pays sytem where people charge to remove..
NSW volunteer system, free of charge...
or NT's goverment / wildlife funded system
I'm a supporter of the NT system, it has many positives imo.
 
I run Reptile Rescue in the Hunter Valley as a fully licenced and insured business and have done so for the past several years .We have only had 2 non payers one from 06 and 07 The 06 was an Eastern Brown in a house at 11.30 pm and the 07 was a Black snake on Christmas day. We also have 30 day accounts.
I fine most people as aware that you have to pay a fee for a speciallist service, What do you pay for a pest exterminator to spray roaches and ants I bet he wont come for a $25-$30 call-out fee or after 5pm. We are restricted to no more than 20 km for release put on by DECCW.
 
besides, most herpers already have all the stuff and spend huge amounts of time and dollars driving around looking for herps anyway lol...

Only the truly obsessed and mentally deranged ones.:oops:

"just going out for coffee honey"

"..umm, Weezer it is 3 in the morning..."

"..aaah, yeah, well...ummm....look- over there...."

------ ---- -------------------------------------/
 
Jase I agree with your comment on the NT system. It should be goverment funded IMO. I recently heard a rumor about a snake catcher useing a 1300 number. I'm not sure how the 1300 numbers work but going off what I hear whenever someone called him they were billed $60 which was than passed on to the catcher so than off he'd go and even if it was a prank call in the middle of the night or no snake to be found he at least got $60 out of it and didn't always need to charge. What I heard was that than if a snake/reptile of any sort had to be relocated and extra cost was added, but again, if that extra cost wasn't passed over he still had the $60 from them calling the 1300 number.
 
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