PRESS RELEASE

Adders in crisis, declare experts

Issued by: Kent Reptile and Amphibian Group

Monday 21 November 2011

For immediate release

The adder, Britain’s only venomous snake, is in crisis. This is the conclusion drawn by a group of reptile experts and conservationists who attended a conference on the latest research on adders, including reports about its status in this country.

The meeting at Greenwich University in Chatham, Kent, on Saturday 19 November painted a bleak picture of the snake’s likely future. Adder numbers are thought to be falling, and at the end of the conference the more than a hundred participants unanimously passed a motion stating that the adder is in more urgent need of new conservation efforts than any other reptile or amphibian species in Britain.

Said Gail Austen-Price of the Kent Reptile and Amphibian Group which arranged the conference: “There is a regional meeting of amphibian and reptile groups in London and the South East every year, but this year we decided to hold a meeting about adders because our own experience suggested that their conservation is a matter of concern. We were proved right. This conference has set a milestone by announcing that the adder’s plight is reaching a critical point, and now is the time for government bodies and conservation organisations to take note.”

Reptile ecologist Dr Chris Gleed-Owen, who chaired the final session, explained: “Adders are widespread but numbers are dwindling and the snake is now extinct in some counties such as Nottinghamshire and Warwickshire. In many areas remaining adder populations have become very small because of habitat loss, and are very vulnerable to inbreeding as well as any further damage to habitat.

“Some people still persecute adders even though they are protected by law and only bite humans in self-defence when they can’t escape. But the main problem is that adders are often given a low priority in management plans even in nature reserves and protected landscapes. For instance scrub clearance may be carried out to restore chalk grassland without considering whether this may harm hibernating adders.

“Sometimes land managers don’t even know that adders are present, but even when they do totally inappropriate actions may be carried out. One site I was studying was cut with a flail killing at least two adders out of a population of 10 adults.”

One of the main threats to adders is the accidental destruction of their winter hibernation refuges. Dr Gleed-Owen pointed out that adders often hibernate communally in mammal burrows or under tree roots. Damage to these sites while the snakes are there risks killing an entire population, but even when they are absent may force the snakes to disperse into less suitable habitat.

The meeting was told that ARG UK, the national umbrella organisation for amphibian and reptile groups, now plans to set up a national register of hibernation sites, to alert local authorities and other countryside managers of these crucial locations. It is also setting up a website for a flagship survey project called Make the Adder Count, where volunteers monitor adder numbers at their local sites.

Adders are famous for dancing (true, actually a ritualised wrestling match between males competing for a female) and for swallowing their young (false), but experts admit that they suffer from a poor public image.

“We need a battle plan to raise awareness and appreciation,” Dr Gleed-Owen said. “It would be tragic if this iconic animal, steeped in history, folklore and literature, were to disappear.”

Notes for editors:

The adder (scientific name: Vipera berus) is a small snake, reaching about two feet (60cm) long. It is typically brown or grey, with a distinctive dark zigzag running the entire length of its body from head to tail.

Adders generally live in heathland, moorland, sand dunes, forest edges and other relatively wild places. They tend to avoid human habitation and highly disturbed areas such as arable farmland.

If approached an adder will normally retreat, but if it feels threatened and cornered it will hiss and may strike. The best thing to do is stand well back from a suspected adder, and let it escape unharmed.

Many people mistake other species for adders, especially grass snakes and slow-worms which are common in gardens and allotments. Both are harmless, and neither has the adder’s distinctive zigzag marking along its back.

Adders are venomous (they deliver venom through their teeth to kill prey or defend themselves). Bites are fairly frequent, but they rarely kill humans. The last death in Britain was over 40 years ago.

Loss and fragmentation of adder habitats, and unsympathetic land management are believed to be the causes of much local extinction. Persecution is also a problem, despite the adder being legally protected.

The adder is protected in Britain under Schedule 5 (Section 9) of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (as amended), which prohibits killing and injury.

Further information:

Please ask for digital photographs, further information, advice or comment from the following:

Dr Chris Gleed-Owen – Amphibian and Reptile Groups of the UK & the British Herpetological Society - 07846 137346 - chris@cgoecology.com.

Dr John Baker - Amphibian and Reptile Groups of the UK - 01986 872016 - johninhalesworth@aol.com

Dr Lee Brady – Kent Reptile and Amphibian Group – 01227 751408 – l.brady@calummaecologicalservices.co.uk

Mike Phillips - Kent Reptile and Amphibian Group - treasurer@kentarg.org – conference organiser

Rick Hodges – Kent Reptile and Amphibian Group – info@kentarg.org

SOUTH WEST REGION AMPHIBIAN AND REPTILE GROUPS’ CONFERENCE

09.15-09.45 Arrival, registration, refreshments

Welcome

from DRAG Chair Nicky Green

9.50-10.30

Regional Roundup:

a ten minute summary of each ARG’s activities this year

10.30-12.30

Presentations

to include: -

Vicky Buller: Surveying for reptiles using refugia; an evaluation of current survey standards and advice

Alex Sams: Troubling Identities - Initial evidence for a successful translocation of the Slow Worm (Anguis fragilis)

Jon Cranfield: Making the adder count in South West England

Lunchtime seminar

- Introduction: ‘Raising the profile of reptiles in the South West’ facilitated by Jon Cranfield.

12.45-13.30

Lunch

(provided) and photo competition, herp quiz, stalls and raffle

13.30-14.00

Seminar discussion

: ‘Raising the profile of reptiles in the South West’

14.00-16.00

Presentations

to include: -

Nicky Green & Julia Clark: Devon’s great crested newts - efforts to conserve an elusive population

David Orchard: The Million Ponds project: lessons from the first three years

16.00 Close and Depart

Scientific posters with a herpetological theme are welcome. Vendors who would like to attend are asked to please get in touch in advance to make arrangements. Please contact Ellie Knott, tel: 01392 274128 (daytimes) or 01392 679222 (evenings) or eknott@devonwildlifetrust.org.

Conference places cost £20 per person for ARG members or unwaged, £35 otherwise. Price includes lunch and refreshments.

Dietary requirements

Please note any dietary or medical requirements.

25th November 2011

.

The Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management (IEEM) - the body representing many professional ecologists - has just published a set of guidance notes on survey skills requirements. The purpose is to advise wildlife surveyors and other practitioners on the minimum level of skills needed for professional species surveys.

The new notes are called “Competencies for Species Survey" (CSS), and are the result of consultation with practitioners, conservation NGOs and SNCOs. There is one for great crested newts, one for natterjack toads, and one for reptiles. They are being promoted as a benchmark to define the minimum knowledge, skill and experience criteria needed to be a professional wildlife surveyor. The full set is accessible here: http://www.ieem.net/competencies.asp.

The new CSS Guidance should be of interest to ARG members as it attempts to standardise the competence that practitioners have. It will also be interesting to see how well they are adopted, and whether they end up performing a function in controversial settings such as public enquiries.

The Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Trust (ARC) has announced that 2011 is a bumper year for sand lizard recovery. They have managed to introduce/reintroduce sand lizards to seven sites in England and Wales - possibly a record number. Included in this list is at least one Dorset site, right on the edge of Bournemouth in fact.

ARC has released the following news item: http://arc-trust.blogspot?.com/2011/09/rare-sand-lizards-released-back-to-wild.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+arc-news+%28ARC+-+latest+news%29

With heavy declines and habitat loss now reversed, the sand lizard is finally recovering in the UK. A concerted effort from ARC, Natural England, Countryside Council for Wales, and other partners means that populations are increasing, and the species has returned to nearly all the Vice Counties that it once occupied. The Sand Lizard Recovery Programme is one of the most successful reintroduction programmes anywhere in the world. ARC (formerly the HCT) has overseen 74 reintroductions over the last 40 years, with very few failures.