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Adder Reintroductions? |
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Fynbos
Member Joined: 05 Feb 2012 Location: South Africa Status: Offline Points: 21 |
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Posted: 05 Feb 2012 at 12:42am |
Why do you think I moved to South Africa? (Yes I'm Back). Nothing much has changed by the look of it, NE still looking at the dream of Hardy's Egdon Heath i.e. monoculture of heather.
The fact that the adder is venomous is irrelevant; snakes are one of the most important vertebrate predators in an ecosystem where they occur - what happend to Biodiversity???
Here in SA we don't condemn the cape cobra or Puff adder for being venomous Conservation bodies here such as cape natuire and sanparks accept them as an integral part of habitats.
We are also strict on relocating. When I deal with problem snakes they have to be released within 20km from point of origin. If not they are euthanased. That may sound harsh, and it doesn't happen often, nut its being realistic and not playing up to the bunnhy huggers.
Thats why I am against translocations of adders in the UK unless it is local. It just gives one a 'feelgood factor' but little to do with practical conservation.
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I get mu kicks on route 62
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Robert V
Senior Member Joined: 06 Aug 2004 Location: United Kingdom Status: Offline Points: 1264 |
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Hi,
is not 19 the magic number? That is you can legally have 19 members of the public on a protest legally or is that just in picketing situations?
R
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RobV
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GemmaJF
Admin Group Joined: 25 Jan 2003 Location: Essex Status: Offline Points: 4359 |
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I think an ideal strategy would be:
1) Identify a site with a known adder population that is to be subjected to large scale clearance work 2) Contact the organisation(s) involved. Outline the need for pre-works survey and their obligation under the WCA to not unlawfully kill adder. This can only be achieved if the population density is understood and key habitat features are protected. (I'm not keen on only protecting hibernacula. It is part of the adders ecology for male adders to disperse into surrounding habitat and set-up surface dens to intercept the females. This habitat must also be managed considerately). A paper trail will need to be kept to ensure we have evidence that the presence of adder was highlighted to the organisations and our concerns voiced. 3) In the event of them not producing an acceptable survey report and mitigation strategy for the site - disrupt the works with a protest. 4) Maintain a presence onsite and if any adder is killed though thoughtless management of the site, pursue a prosecution under the WCA for unlawful killing. Any other thoughts appreciated.
Edited by GemmaJF - 30 Jan 2012 at 1:31pm |
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Richard2
Senior Member Joined: 01 Dec 2010 Status: Offline Points: 285 |
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I see. Well, it rings true; it's consistent with the way a lot of other things are done.
If anyone is in a position to know when one of these harmful actions is going to take place, please post the details in this forum. We could try to organise some sort of demo - it would need at least twenty to be effective, I imagine, and normal channels of complaint would have to be tried first.
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Robert V
Senior Member Joined: 06 Aug 2004 Location: United Kingdom Status: Offline Points: 1264 |
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The two most important items in Gemma's statements are:-
1) Cost - everything nowadays is subject to economies - if a trust can "manage" their land by machine rather than by manual labour ( with the shortgae of volunteers) then that's what will happen. Prioritising they call it, and, and until someone is prosecuted, habitat protection of reptiles will come way down the list.
2) Staff moving on - we all know (don't we?) that the quickest way to progress to senior positions is by regularly changing employers. Unfortunately, personal ambition overides good intentions. Staff turn over means local knowledge is often forgotten. Site staff then become disiilusioned and apathetic when they report mismanagement to senior staff only for it to be ignored once a new senior comes in.
But i agree with the protest thing and would gladly lend my presence and placard. a ball-rolling exercise to give the NE the kick up the pants it derserves.
R
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RobV
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sussexecology
Senior Member Joined: 30 Sep 2010 Location: United Kingdom Status: Offline Points: 411 |
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Agreed. Funny really because the conservation group that I was referring to earlier was indeed a wildlife trust. Can't believe that EWT would behave like that. I mean you did them a favour by sending in the report with your recommendations. i got to agree with you though that it is very sad.
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sussexecology
Senior Member Joined: 30 Sep 2010 Location: United Kingdom Status: Offline Points: 411 |
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Thanks for your comments Richard. I will try and answer as best I can, but Gemma has pretty much covered everything. Conservation groups manage their land on a large scale. I for one used to work on nature reserves so i have this seen this for myself. For example, the site manager instructed us to clear an area of really good habitat for reptiles at the wrong time of year (ie work undertaken in the summer months). It wasn't just a little patch of vegetation in a field, but a mass extensive amount of vegetation. No thought was given to the impacts it would have on the reptiles. Ecological consultants on the other hand undertake habitat management work in a completely different manner. For example, we may clear vegetation to increase the capture rate of reptiles when on a mitigation project. This is undertaken gradually where the height of the vegetation is gradually reduced and to a max height og 15 cm (if there are GCN present). The whole process can take 2 - 3 days depending on the area that is being cleared. For Reptile Receptor sites, ecological consultants carry out habitat management work to enhance habitats at the right time of year and on a rotation. For example, cutting vegetation is carried out between November - February (with care taken at the latter end if the weather is mild). Hope that answers your question. I have been on both sides and i entered into ecology because there was an opportunity at the time. If things had worked out differently, I would probably still be working in conservation. It's only until you work in ecology that you see the differences. I'll answer your earlier question when I have a moment. Bye for now. |
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GemmaJF
Admin Group Joined: 25 Jan 2003 Location: Essex Status: Offline Points: 4359 |
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I would be there Richard.
I hate to sound so cynical (OK I don't anymore I was made cynical over time) but the reason for it is simply, money. These organisations rely on funding schemes. A particularly lucrative funding stream is available for 'heathland restoration'. The cheapest and easiest way to then carryout the works is to bring in heavy plant machinery. Job done in a day, most of the funding goes to 'other projects'. Too many of the people involved I'm afraid to say are only doing it because it is a 'job'. They 'know enough to get by' and that is about where it ends. Often they do not stay in the job for more than a year or so before moving on. Those that have been around for a long time seem to be almost exclusively botanists who are quite happy to 'garden' what is left of our heathlands for one or two plant species whilst completely ignoring the needs of existing wildlife. Sorry to put it so bluntly, but that is what I have seen time and again. When someone comes along and says, 'can you rethink your management scheme' the ranks close to protect the funding stream. The person attempting to advise is bad mouthed, undermined and generally disregarded as a 'trouble maker'. Do you know for example that I'm effectively 'banned' from surveying EWT sites just for sending them a single report which advised against future soil scraping at an already compromised site? If it wasn't so sad it would be hilarious...
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Richard2
Senior Member Joined: 01 Dec 2010 Status: Offline Points: 285 |
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Well, just picking up this idea - what if a group of adder-lovers actually did turn up and hold a demonstration, obstructing the path of the bulldozers, as it were? I bet the local newspapers would be interested; perhaps even national news. Could we organise this?
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sussexecology
Senior Member Joined: 30 Sep 2010 Location: United Kingdom Status: Offline Points: 411 |
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So so true Gemma If clients ignore our advice, then they leave themselves open to prosecution. We can only give them the advice, but if they decide to ignore that advice - then there is nothing that we can do. I mean we can't stand guard at the site to make sure that they don't clear the site as we simply don't have the time for this. That's why we always put our advice in writing, as well as verbal over the phone. But agree with what you say regarding picking up a case when the damage has been done.
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