ROCKINGHAM — A private company will be taking over animal control services in the city limits next month.
The Rockingham Police Department announced Monday on social media that Rivers Wildlife Removal will be handling animal control calls starting Aug. 1.
Owner Jasper Rivers previously worked as a nuisance animal control officer in Chesterfield County, South Carolina, before deciding to be his own boss.
Rivers said he initially started the company prior to the COVD pandemic, but restarted a few months ago.
A South Carolina native, Rivers now lives in Rockingham.
Chief George Gillenwater said Rivers approached the department about the opportunity.
By taking on the role, Rivers said that would leave officers available to focus on crime and “serve the community the best that they can.”
Gillenwater agreed.
“We do not have dedicated animal control officers, so if a call is dispatched out, it goes to a uniform officer who has very little training in this area,” said Gillenwater. “It’s a great benefit to the city to have someone that has some credentials in this area.
“This relieves our officers of roughly 800 calls a year allowing them to be more proactive in deterring other criminal activity,” the chief added.
Residents with animal issues should still call 911.
According to Gillenwater, calls will still be dispatched to a supervisor who will determine if an officer is needed to assist Rivers.
“That is, the expectation is Rivers handles the calls but if a citation needs to be issued or (an) owner needs to be spoken with, a uniform officer will still handle those responsibilities,” Gillenwater said.
Through Rivers won’t be an officer, Gillenwater said he would be paid from the department’s dedicated part-time budget instead of coming from the contracted services section.
Rivers said his company removes unwanted animals from residential and commercial properties and will be focusing on stray cats and dogs in his work with the department, working closely with police and the Richmond County Animal Shelter which has been operated by K2 Solutions for the past two years.
As for wildlife, Rivers said he can deal with anything from birds and bats to black bears.
The toughest call he’s had so far was to remove four snakes from a ceiling of a home in the Palmetto State.
Rivers said he prefers to capture and remove animals humanely and avoids killing them “at all costs.”
“It’s our job to preserve (life) as best we can,” Rivers said.
He also performs wildlife landscaping — to either keep animals out of a property, or draw them in. For the latter, Rivers gave an example of hunters trying to lure more deer to an area.
Rivers currently has no other employees.
The Richmond County Chamber of Commerce is hosting a ribbon cutting for Rivers Wildlife Removal at Hinson Lake on Wednesday, July 26 at 1 p.m.
