Snakes Harmful and
HarmlessTM
Snake Removal from Private Property in the Perth Metropolitan area of
Western Australia
Prepared
by BRIAN BUSH, 9 Birch Place, Stoneville WA 6081, for the Department of Conservation
and Land Management (CALM) in June 1995.
INTRODUCTION
Snakes are
an integral part of the Australian bush with 112 species being known at this
time from Western Australia. Twenty four occur in the Perth metropolitan area,
of which 19 are technically venomous, 9 dangerously so to humans. Four of these
are sea snakes and are of little concern here as they are unlikely to be found
in a backyard situation. Only 2 of the 5 large venomous land snakes found
locally are common, ie Dugite (Pseudonaja affinis) and Tiger Snake (Notechis
scutatus).
The highest incidence of
snakebite in humans is a result of the victim treading on a snake. The second
highest incidence is during attempts to kill snakes (Bush,
1995). The Dugite is an especially mobile snake that will forage widely
into backyards and buildings in search of mice. The potential for snakebite is
far greater in the backyard. A feeling of security and a reduced awareness of
snakes in this environment increases the chance of treading on one that maybe
there. Also, if a snake is seen the resident often feels obliged to kill it.
The snake removal service, Snake Busters, provides volunteers
licensed by CALM to remove pest snakes. These volunteers are generally
proficient in the safe handling of venomous snakes. They require an endorsement
from a person recognised by CALM as a specialised live snake catcher prior to
being issued with a Regulation 4 licence for this purpose.
The service was set up
primarily to reduce the likelihood of accidental snakebite, but also provides
'pest' snakes for research, education, etc. This reduces the pressure on wild
populations occupying natural areas by alleviating the need to remove
individuals from these.
Volunteers (Snake Busters)
List of volunteer WA SNAKE BUSTERS
Frequency of Assistance
Each volunteer may receive
in excess of 50 calls yearly to remove snakes from private/public property. In
approximately 40% of these cases the snake has vanished prior to the
snake-catcher arriving. Between 15 and 30 snakes may be bagged by a single
volunteer each year. Figure 1 shows the monthly frequency based on a single
volunteer's records for the 5 year period 1990-1995.
History of Assistance and
Accidents
History: I set up Snake Busters
in 1987 to provide a volunteer service to the public, and also allow for an
increased opportunity to impart positive educational information to those
needing the service. Duty CALM personnel, Police Communications, the Poisons
Information Service, local shires and their rangers are all provided with a Snake
Busters list. This allows a member of the public to access a telephone
number of a snake-catcher when required.
Snake-catching is a specialised
activity with few people being psychologically suited. Snakes are very aware of
their surroundings and have an uncanny ability to detect nervousness in an
individual person. This manifests itself in the snake causing a rapid and
pronounced behavioural change to defensive readiness. A common comment after a
'pest' snake has been bagged is "I could have done that myself. It looked
so easy." It is far better for someone proficient in snake-handling to
undertake this chore than someone with a dislike of snakes!
Accidents: In my position as coordinator of Snake
Busters and president of the Western Australian Society of Amateur
Herpetologists Inc. (WASAH) I am unaware of any serious accidents involving
registered snake-catchers responding to snake-removal calls in the past 5
years. The most serious accidents to date involve occasional scratches
experienced scrambling beneath bushes.
Supervision by Calm
Officers: As a
government wildlife authority's resources are limited, it is not feasible to
have officers situated in various suburbs waiting by the telephone day and
night to respond to snake-removal calls. On occasions wildlife officers have
accompanied and assisted snake-catchers. On other occasions a snake-catcher and
a wildlife officer have responded to the same call. There have also been
occasions where a wildlife officer has had to bag a 'pest' snake because no one
else is available, although these occasions are not common. The ability to
catch snakes appears to be a natural attribute rather than something that can
be taught. Many wildlife officers would prefer not to have to catch snakes.
The Western Australian
Society of Amateur Herpetologists, formally recognised by CALM, have at times
carried out training on the safe catching of large venomous snakes. However, as
mentioned above, not everyone is suited to this.
Footnote: In Oct. '95 snake catcher envenomed
in Dongara while removing gwardar, Pseudonaja mengdeni, from district
high school and hospitalised in Sir Charles Gardiner Hosp.
Graph showing monthly frequencies of venomous snake-removal compiled over a
five year period for one snake-catcher in the Perth area. A total of 140 snakes
were removed involving 119 Dugites (Pseudonaja affinis), 13 Tiger Snakes
(Notechis scutatus), 2 Death Adders (Acanthophis
antarcticus), 2 Gwardars (Pseudonaja mengdeni), 2 Gould's Hooded
Snakes (Parasuta gouldii) and 2 Half-girdled Snakes (Brachyurophis
semifasciata).