Hop off the Press

Hop off the Press! What’s new with the ARC crew? By Angela Reynolds - Editor

We said goodbye to our Communications & Outreach Manager Martin O’Neill at the end of September. He made a lot of positive changes to the Trust during the year he was here and played a big part in the branding of our new HQ. Anju Sarpal has taken up the reins and is really enjoying getting stuck in, getting to know staff and the partners we work with up and down the country.

Alice Pawlik completed her stint as Amphibian Husbandry Officer and you can read about her work on page 9.

Our new project Snakes in the Heather is up and running with two project officers (see page 13). We have welcomed back Ben Limburn as Citizen Science & Operations Officer and recruited Owain Masters as Public Engagement & Education Officer.

Our Field Teams are more than half way through the winter season doing habitat management across our reserves. The Dorset team are joined by Winter Seasonals Ciara Askin, Philip O’Keefe and ARC regular Stuart Handyside. Our Wealden team are joined by Laurence Hills and Mark Crisp.

How are we doing? Have your say! By Anju Sarpal - Communications & Outreach Manager

Hello I’m Anju Sarpal, self confessed frog fanatic and ARC’s new Communications and Outreach Manager. In my first few months in my new role, my aim is to make sure that you, as our supporter, are getting your voice heard and receiving the information you need.

As part of that endeavour we have created a quick survey to gather your views. We would be grateful if you could complete and return the enclosed survey or fill it in online https://www.arc-trust.org/ hopgossip-survey I look forward to reading them and meeting you soon.

In the meantime if you have news, views or observations you would like to share with fellow supporters and partners, drop us a line at comms@arc-trust.org

Wildlife and Countryside Link and Wales Environment Link, revealed this Autumn in their third Annual Wildlife Crime Report, that reports of alleged wildlife crime incidents to NGOs rose again in 2018, with an increase of more than 17% since the first report in 2016.

There were a total of 1,324 reports of wildlife crime incidents against bats, badgers, birds of prey, amphibians and reptiles and marine mammals, recorded by these NGOs in 2018, compared to 1287 in 2017 and 1130 in 2016. Despite the increase in reporting of wildlife crimes, the number of convictions remains very low, with just 11 individuals and businesses convicted of these types of crimes last year.

Crimes against badgers, birds of prey and bats remain among the most common wildlife crimes reported. Also noteworthy is that the number of reports of marine mammal disturbances have more than doubled this year.

Pete Charleston, Chair of Link’s Wildlife Crime Working Group and Conservation Wildlife Crime Officer for the Bat Conservation Trust, said: ‘The abuse and persecution of wildlife will remain invisible, and go unpunished, unless crimes against wildlife are effectively recorded and assessed. Wildlife crime police officers are hugely dedicated, but they need funding certainty and resources to catch these criminals, and tougher sentences available to ensure criminals face a punishment fit for their crime.’

ARC CEO, Dr Tony Gent said: ‘This report highlights the need for better enforcement of the laws protecting amphibians and reptiles. Sadly we continue to see illegal acts resulting in the loss of amphibian and reptile habitats, which adds to the pressures they face. We urgently need a range of improvements, including more support for wildlife crime officers and better guidance for courts.’

To tackle wildlife crime more effectively, the NGOs are calling for the Governments in England and Wales to ensure greater assessment of wildlife crimes, better targeting of resources, and more successful identification, prosecution and sentencing of criminals.

The Joint Scientific Meeting run by ARC and the British Herpetological Society (BHS) was held at the Bournemouth Natural Science Societymuseum on Saturday 30th November 2019.

Our one day conference, now in its 15th year, annually invites science and research based presentations from around the world and ends with a raffle which raises funds for various great herpetofauna related causes. This year’s speakers covered a wide range of topics from studies across the globe. From using 3Dprinted, GPS embedded, decoy turtle eggs to track poachers in South America and abundance and population structure of the Morelet's Crocodile in Mexico, to Zoo visitor’s understanding about amphibian declines in different countries.

Our thanks to the University of Kent, Institute of Zoology and Imperial College London, University of Salford, University of Liverpool, University of Otago and Natural History Museum to help make the event a sell-out.

Earlier this year, world renowned herpetologist Professor Tim Halliday, sadly passed away. A collection of his books were kindly donated by his widow to auction with the proceeds to be donated to amphibian conservation research. We are delighted to report that we have raised over £600 via the silent auction held at this event alone! We will be holding more silent auctions at future events.

The Herpetofauna Workers Meeting 2020 By Angela Reynolds - Editor

National Lottery award winner! By Angela Reynolds - Editor

The HWM is organised by ARC and Amphibian and Reptile Groups of the UK (ARG UK) and has been running annually for over 30 years. This popular two-day event occupies the centre stage of the herpetological calendar with a full and varied programme of presentations and workshops and a Gala Dinner. Attendees include everyone from conservation organisations and statutory bodies, to students and enthusiastic volunteers.

The 2020 meeting is being held in February and will be linking up with Gems in the Dunes, ARC’s groundbreaking project to conserve threatened species on the Sefton Coast. For the first time we’re also offering a chance to roll up your sleeves and get involved in habitat management, under the guidance of the Gems in the Dunes staff, in an optional Friday excursion. There will also be a less strenuous option for a guided walk in the dunes with our partners North Merseyside Amphibian and Reptile Group.

In November, the National Lottery, celebrating its 25th birthday, hosted its annual awards for the UK’s favourite lottery funded projects and people.

ARC is delighted to be part of the Back from the Brink partnership, which won the National Lottery Heritage Award for our work to involve people in saving threatened species.

Paul Hetherington of Buglife, one of the Back from the Brink partners said: “Extinction is forever. There is no turning back. We have a moral responsibility to prevent the extinction of all species. Back from the Brink is the start of the recovery journey for more than 200 of England's most endangered species. This project is also the first time such a wide range of species-specific organisations have pooled resources to work holistically for the benefit of all species, making it a ground-breaking cooperation.”

Congratulations to everyone who worked so hard for this including Project Manager Fiona Sunners and Project Officer Andrew Hampson, our Gems in the Dunes team!