It has been 20 years since Ohio Wildlife Center pioneered its social enterprise business known as SCRAM! Wildlife Control in the Columbus region.
The concept was straightforward: provide the community with humane wildlife exclusion options using a fee-based business model. All the funds SCRAM! generated would support the operating costs of Ohio Wildlife Center.
For the clients who engaged SCRAM! to help solve human-wildlife situations, the solution would be resolved without causing harm or death to any animal. It was a win-win outcome that has produced constant growth and success for two decades.
Joining SCRAM! in 2008, Director Adam Turpen has personally seen the tremendous acceptance the community has shown for the philosophy and techniques that SCRAM! has brought to Central Ohio.
“I have dedicated myself to this mission for the last 12 years,” Turpen noted. “I used to be on call seven days a week for 365 days a year,” he said. “It used to be me, a dog and Stormy Gibson as the call taker,” he said. “Now we have four technicians, a service coordinator and a dedicated crew of volunteers who work with us on rescues.”
The social enterprise earnings of SCRAM! now provide a quarter of Ohio Wildlife Center’s annual operating revenue.
For Turpen, the power of personal referrals from satisfied clients and expanding relationships with suburban municipalities around the city has been key to SCRAM!’s steady popularity for those seeking humane approaches to wildlife conflicts. Unlike other commercial trapping companies, SCRAM! does not euthanize wildlife. Their techniques include using one-way exit doors and quickly remediating the structural issues that allowed wildlife to enter in the first place.
Initially called Humane Wildlife Solutions when the service was launched in 2001, the community could find expert wildlife assistance for common issues such as bats, raccoons or squirrels in attics; animals burrowing under foundations or decks; or, animals trapped in household spaces unable to exit. SCRAM! technicians bring advanced training in wildlife behaviors to devise non-lethal, humane exclusion solutions for clients.
It was the vision of the late Dr. Donald Burton, who founded Ohio Wildlife Center, that the organization could serve the community in an innovative way with SCRAM! while earning important revenue to support the Wildlife Hospital and the overall budget.
Today, SCRAM! continues to innovate, utilizing drone technology along with expansive knowledge of wildlife behaviors. The technicians educate the community while they resolve individual cases across urban and suburban neighborhoods. SCRAM! Canada geese mitigation programs at sites from the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium to local parks and cities use trained border collies to manage nesting and breeding issues along with newer technology such as lasers.
SCRAM! now averages nearly 1,000 calls a year to serve residential and business clients. The top four wildlife animals that spur calls for help? Brown Bats, Eastern gray squirrels, raccoons and striped skunks.
For assistance with nuisance wildlife encounters in homes or businesses or to schedule an inspection or obtain an estimate, contact SCRAM! at 614-763-0690 or visit SCRAMwildlife.org