It's far too early to claim this relocation of reptiles was a success

Moving 24,000 snakes, lizards and worms is a huge task, and their habitat is not protected
Jon Cranfield The Guardian 29 Mar 11;

My heart sank when I read your report that thousands of "adders, grass snakes, common lizards and slow worms" had been "transported from the east of England to nature reserves in Wiltshire" (24,000 reptiles moved to make way for £1.5bn port, 22 March).

I can see how the immediate harm or killing was prevented by removing the reptiles out of the development site. I just cannot see how the reptile relocation, "thought to be the UK's biggest artificial movement of animals", maintains the conservation status of reptiles around the area where they were based.

Throughout my career as a consultant herpetologist I have always worked with the idea that wholesale translocation of reptiles (and amphibians) over large distances should be avoided. It has been a challenge in my profession: working within legal constraints which only protect individual reptiles; balancing the needs of the client, who wants, quite rightly, to keep costs to a minimum; and actually getting conservation value from these projects.

Looking at the numbers of the different reptiles moved from the Essex oil refinery site – "290 adders, 400 grass snakes, 17,000 common lizards and 6,000 slow worms" – you can see the challenge that can face ecological consultants moving these animals. These figures though are naturally inflated through the young animals born each year. Newborn and younger animals will suffer naturally from high mortality over the winter, and this may be increased by movement to a new site.

You report that "Marcus Pearson, environmental manager for [port operator] DP World, said the move seemed to have been successful. Reptiles that had been moved and then recaptured to check their wellbeing seemed healthy and were doing well."

But how are the reptiles being monitored in their new homes? There was no mention of any form of data being collected (weights, lengths and photographs). The vast number of adult lizards may have made this unworkable, but the few hundred snakes could have easily been tagged, photographed, weighed and measured prior to release. This is what happened with water voles relocated from south Essex to mink-free habitats in Colchester under licence.

Relocation, habitat creation, management and monitoring for newts is strictly controlled through a licensing system maintained by Natural England. No such system exists for the more widespread reptile species. But evidence is emerging which shows that all these reptiles – particularly the adder – would benefit from legal protection of their habitat. Your article yesterday, on the population slump of Britain's only venomous snake, reinforced this (On the slide: adder project looks to halt snake's decline, 28 March).

I do take some comfort that the remaining oil refinery reptiles are being re-homed on the RSPB reserve at West Canvey Marshes. But it is certainly too early to judge whether, in terms of replacing lost habitat and sustaining the relocated reptile populations, the story in Essex has been a "success".

Essex reptiles settle into new Wiltshire home
24,000 adders, common lizards and other species moved from oil refinery site to reserves to make way for London Gateway
Steven Morris guardian.co.uk 21 Mar 11;

They had lived peacefully in their tens of thousands on an old refinery site in Essex.

Now after what is thought to be the UK's biggest artificial movement of animals, 24,000 adders, grass snakes, common lizards and slow worms are settling well into new homes 140 miles away.

The reptiles were transported from the east of England to reserves in Wiltshire to make way for the £1.5bn London Gateway container port and logistics park.

Since 1998 the creatures have been captured by hand and moved in vans – early in the morning so they did not dry out – around the M25 and down the M4 before being released into their new homes.

The reserves in Wiltshire have now been declared full and this year the relatively few remaining reptiles at the Essex site will be rehoused closer to another reserve closer to home.

Marcus Pearson, environmental manager for DP World, said the move seemed to have been successful. Reptiles that had been moved and then recaptured to check their wellbeing seemed healthy and doing well in their new home.

Construction is under way at London Gateway, 25 miles to the east of central London. Once complete the development will allow the world's biggest container ships to berth close to the capital.

But one of the challenges the developers faced was rehousing the animals that had moved on to the site after an oil refinery ceased operating in 1999.

Homes were found nearby for the carefully protected great crested newts.

But no new local habitat could be found for the reptiles so the decision was taken to move them to reserves managed by the Wiltshire Wildlife Trust.

DP World also bought a chunk of land to link areas owned by the trust.

It has moved 290 adders, 400 grass snakes, 17,000 common lizards and 6,000 slow worms.

Pearson said finding a new home was tricky because they could not be moved to places where they were already large populations of a particular creature.

The Wiltshire reserves are now judged to be full and the remaining reptiles found on the Gateway site this year will be moved to the RSPB reserve, West Canvey Marsh.