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Volunteer Organization Relocates Nuisance Reptiles

FORT SMITH (KFSM) — With spring now here, people may start to see snakes and other critters roaming around yards, and a local organization is trying to sa...
FORT SMITH (KFSM) -- With spring now here, people may start to see snakes and other critters roaming around yards, and a local organization is trying to save the lives of reptiles by removing them for free from your property.

Calls from frantic homeowners are what volunteers with Cold Blood & Warm Hearts receive on a regular basis.

The group was created to help remove nuisance reptiles, but also prevent senseless killings.

"We were sick and tired of seeing the dead snakes posted online," Samantha Windham, founder said. "People would post them asking for identification after they killed it and they would find out it was harmless, and decide to leave it alone next time, so there had to be an alternative."

After you call the organization, a volunteer will come to identify the reptile and whether or not it's venomous.

Then, the professionals remove it from the area and return them to a safe habitat.

"We leave the area and we take the snakes to a undisclosed location away from people and we relate them there," Windham said. "They are safely released to go and live on their snake way and avoid humans hopefully."

Many of the professionals like herpetologist, Kimberly Rogers with the Arkansas Reptile Research Center have worked with snakes of all kinds. She and the organization are hoping to change the stereotype of these reptiles.

"Snakes are never aggressive," Rogers said. "That is a misconception that people have had just because of the way the they are perceived. The snakes are defensive only...they will only bite in self defense."

"The snake does not want to hurt you, he just wants to live his life and we`re just trying to make sure that happens," Windham said.

Cold Bood & Warm Hearts serves all counties in Arkansas and are always looking for new volunteers.

If you have a reptile that you need safely removed from your property, call 479-769-5783.

To find more information about the organization, click here.

For more information about snakes or to learn more from a herpetologist, you can contact Kimberly Rogers at 806-4367.

 

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