Snakes Alive ! Call the Snake Catchers !
by Greg Martin
Forget the one about the Englishman , Scotsman and Aussie standing at a bar , what about the snake catcher who turns up to do his thing stepping out of a Mercedes Benz and wearing a swish suit !
That ’ s exactly how Sean Cade arrives at a job on the many occasions he takes time out from his executive role as Business Development Manager for Mercedes Benz to bag errant reptiles and relocate them to their natural environments .
As well as having expert snake catching skills , the 50-year-old also possesses a great sense of humour , quipping to your writer : “ if you want a snake safely removed , don ’ t call Ghost Busters , call Australian Snake Catchers ”.
Sean , his wife of 21 years , Freya , a veterinary nurse , and the younger of their two sons , 18-year-old Liam , operate Australian Snake Catchers whose motto should be : “ Have hook and bag – will travel ”.
Older son , Jacob , while taking an interest in his parents and Liam ’ s snake catching escapades , opted to stay in a snake-free zone , and is a fully qualified electrician . The trio operate all over the region but specifically in the Hawkesbury , Hills , Blacktown and Blue Mountains districts which , as you all know , have large areas of bushland and where there ’ s bush , there ’ s a huge variety of reptiles . Many of these boast fangs which can inject highly toxic venom into the unwary ... but mostly , the foolish .
“ I ’ m not describing people who want to
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deal on their own in apprehending snakes as fools , but they really are not having any regard to their safety ,” Sean explained .
“ The facts speak for themselves – between 80 and 90 per cent of snake bites occur when inexperienced people try to catch or kill snakes .”
And fortunately for Australian Snake Catchers there aren ’ t too many fools in our necks of the wood !
Hence Australian Snake Catchers does a , yes , well , a roaring trade doing that voodoo , that they do , so well !
There ’ s a call-out fee for ASC to attend a job – if the particular reptile cannot be located on the first visit , there ’ s no fee for a subsequent visit to catch and relocate the snake . An outlay of a coupla bucks sure beats a bite !
Sean has been catching snakes professionally for a quarter of a century , firstly working as a volunteer with Wildlife Rescue Organisation ( WIRES ) but for the past 16 years he and Freya have operated their own highly successful business .
But there ’ s much more to ASC than catching reptiles “ 24 / 7 , 365 days of the year ”.
“ We provide information and education about snakes and other reptiles , snakebite first aid , identification , risk mitigation , yard maintenance , pet safety – virtually anything reptiles ,” Sean said .
“ We provide assistance and explain habitat loss to NSW Police , NSW Fire Brigade , veterinary practices , local councils , National Parks and Wildlife Service and other wildlife organisations .
“ We always look forward to being
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given the opportunity to educate , inform and advise audiences about our native species of snakes and reptiles and most importantly , how to live in harmony with them .”
Sean and Freya are chuffed that Liam , an apprentice diesel mechanic , has joined them in catching snakes . “ Liam is a bloody
Freya , Sean and Liam Cade have the safe removal and relocation of snakes and other reptiles their business .
marvel and Freya and I admire his amazing skills in catching snakes ,” Sean said .
“ From the age of just five he accompanied me on snake catching jobs and from a safe distance he watched and learned .
“ In his early teens he became a spotter for both Freya and I and once he turned 18 last June , he became a fully qualified snake catcher .
“ He is methodical and patient and seems to have an uncanny knack in reading
That ’ s how you do it ! Sean Cade doing that voodoo , that he do , so well . snakes ’ behaviour which is a real boon in this business .
“ Liam is an expert at identifying snakes – show him a photo or video of a snake and he ’ ll be able to identify it immediately .”
I naturally asked Sean had he , Freya or Liam ever been bitten .
“ Only I have and that was just the once and I brought it on myself by taking my eye of one snake as I caught and bagged the other ,” he explained .
“ It was a red-bellied black snake , and I was fortunate in that its fangs only gave me a ‘ love-bite ’ on my right index finger and the venom didn ’ t infiltrate my lymphatic system .”
He has also been bitten by the golf – he ’ s a scratch player – and Go-kart and production car racing bugs !
“ Liam got into Go-Karts at 15 , racing around the Wilberforce track and instead of watching him I was talked into having a go myself ,” Sean said .
“ Liam has progressed to racing and beating the best drivers in Australia but in more recent years I switched to driving production cars on the NSW circuit .”
Sean knows a thing or two about motor vehicles since completing fouryear parts interpreter apprenticeship with Fury Ford .
Down the years he ’ s taken his administrative skills and motor parts knowledge to Eaton Trucks , Mercedes Benz Trucks and Mack Trucks before taking up his current role with Mercedes Benz .
Sean ’ s advice if you are bitten by a snake ?
“ Bandage the ( bite ) site and limb , immobilise the patient and call 000 – and just remember , you do not need to catch the snake for ID purposes ,” Sean stressed .
12 ISSUE 68 // FEBRUARY 2021 www . hdinews . com . au THE HILLS INDEPENDENT