David Willott has been catching snakes for nearly 30 years, and lost a finger along the way Photo: K. Y. Cheng
Over the past nine years we have written many stories about the exploits of Dave Willott, and his dealings with the district’s local snake life, usually when the critters are where they shouldn’t be for human safety.* Today we received a long letter from Dave which explains why recent change in police procedure action may put him out of business..
My snake catching journey started in 1998 with a letter to the Sai Kung Police offering my services for free as a snake catcher. I have written this letter in response to an article that I have just read in the local newspaper; the story was about a King Cobra that had found its way into a house in Fei Ngo Shan, the Police were called, and in turn they summoned the proprietor of a snake restaurant to assist. The snake was bagged and ultimately served up in soup. My aim was to provide an alternative outcome for the snake, I wanted to help people but more importantly, help the snake.,
Over twenty-five years I served my community, being on call twenty-four seven, three hundred sixty-five days a year; no summer holidays with the kids, enforced sobriety, hospital vacations and amputated digits and no complaints (until now). It was my duty.
I actually considered myself fortunate – too many days spent skipping school looking for snakes ended up with me achieving an ‘A’ In Snakeology but a ‘F’ in everything else. But with the support from my wife, and the small amount that the police paid me, we scraped by.
So much has changed for the better; understanding and acceptance of snakes has improved significantly, thanks to Kadoorie Farm and individuals like William Sargent; the Police should also be commended for their willingness to work and listen to the experts when implementing new strategies regarding the treatment and handling of snakes.
Unfortunately, a recent decision made by them has had a severe impact on my life. In the past when the police received a report of a snake found in Sai Kung they would call me to assist. A “snake-found” case is considered an emergency and naturally calls for prompt action. Now the Police have decided to use snake catchers who live outside of the Sai Kung area. When asked why, they said they wanted to be fair.
So even if I were five minutes away they will call the snake catcher from Kwun Tong because it wasn’t my turn! So overnight a decision was made that not only endangers life but reduces my income by two thirds, and to add insult to injury, after giving them twenty-five years and a finger, they didn’t even have the decency to call me to tell me about the change.
I often wondered how my snake catching career would end, would I go out in a blaze of glory from a bite of a king or a Krait? Nah! The end came not from the tip of a fang, but the stroke of a pen.
Dave
* Some of the stories we have printed concerning Dave and his snake exploits:
https://hongkongbuzz.hk/2018/05/dave-willott-snake-catcher-extraordinaire-back-in-action-again
https://hongkongbuzz.hk/2017/09/snake-catcher-extraordinaire-david-willot-has-a-lucky-escape
https://hongkongbuzz.hk/2015/04/its-april-so-our-snakes-will-be-slithering-out-active-and-hungry
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