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This special two-day event focusing on our native adder, Viper berus, seeks to unlock the drivers behind adder declines, and determine how research and landscape-level projects can meet the challenges - #vanishingviper2025 We are delighted to welcome you to Vanishing Viper 2025, which will be held…

Read more: Vanishing Viper 2025 - a landscape-level approach to adder conservation

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The European Adder (Vipera berus) is a widespread reptile, ranging from the UK in the west throughout Northern Europe, Central Asia and Russia. Historically widespread in England, adders have declined across much of their former range and have already been lost from a number of…

Read more: Secretive Serpents - conserving adders in Norfolk and Suffolk

Adders are Amazing! - copyright Sam Kelly
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A new publication from the Adders are Amazing! Team

Adder (Vipera berus) populations are experiencing declines in many countries, including the United Kingdom. Unfortunately, perceptions of adders and other venomous snakes are generally negative, making conservation of these species a challenge. More worryingly, data from the…

Read more: Improving attitudes towards adders (Vipera berus) and nature connectedness in primary‐age group children

European tree frog (Hyla arborea) copyright Tariq Stark
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In the face of ongoing wildlife declines, releasing animals back into the wild has become an increasingly popular proposition.  For species with limited dispersal abilities, such as amphibians and reptiles, actively moving animals may be the only way of restoring them to some sites.  Nevertheless,…

Read more: Amphibian and Reptile Reintroductions - Guidelines for Amphibian and Reptile Groups

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Welcome to our ARG UK 2024 Annual General Meeting (AGM), an online event held on Tuesday 16th July starting at 7:30 pm. As always, all of our affiliated ARGS and their members were very welcome. The event ran in three parts starting with an update on…

Read more: 2024 ARG UK AGM - Presentations and Workshops

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Having alerted our volunteers to the potential changes proposed to the Wildlife and Countryside Act, under the QQR7 review, we now wish to bring your attention to an even more serious threat posed by the UK government’s drive for deregulation that may involve scrapping the…

Read more: Stand up for nature! Help us to protect our precious Habitats Regulations

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The SW ARGS online meeting recorded on 06.11.2021 provided an opportunity for volunteers, NGOs, academic researchers and statutory agencies to network and catch up on the latest news and research findings from reptile and amphibian conservation projects from right across the region. Session…

Read more: SW ARGs regional online meeting recorded 06.11.2021

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We are delighted to present the Scottish ARGs regional meeting for 2021 which was recorded on Saturday October 30th. You can view the recording on YouTube here: Introduced by Chris Cathrine (ARG UK, Cent ARG, Caledonian Conservation), the online meeting provided an opportunity for volunteers,…

Read more: Scottish ARGs Regional Meeting 30/10/21 - Recording and summary

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What is it?

Whilst most of the leeches you will encounter in the UK are a natural part of your ponds' ecosystem and doing no harm to other wildlife, since 2020 we've been receiving unusual reports of leech predation on amphibians from a small number…

Read more: A new report of leech predation on amphibians

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QQR 7 - LATEST UPDATES

January 2022 - ARG UK are one of 49 signatories to an open letter to the JNCC that was sent on 28.01.22 expressing our continued concerns about the proposed changes to the Wildlife and Countryside Act (1981) and the impact of these…

Read more: 7th Quinquennial Review (QQR) of Schedules 5 and 8 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act (1981) - A summary by ARG UK

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A fantastic job opportunity has arisen for a Project Officer (part time 3 days/week) for the Dragons in the Hills Partnership Project in Northern Ireland. Amphibian and Reptile Groups of UK (ARG UK) are seeking an experienced outreach officer to champion community engagement in the…

Read more: NEW - Job vacancy - with The Dragons in the Hills project in Northern Ireland

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Presented by Nicola Morris (Trustee ARG UK, Head of Environment and Engagement at South West Lakes Trust), our expert panel explored some of the concepts surrounding the role of reintroductions in rewilding, with a focus on our native amphibians and reptiles. We were treated to three…

Read more: ARG UK Seminar Series: The Role of Reintroductions in Rewilding - recording and poll results

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ARGWEB is an online toolkit tailor-made for our affiliated volunteer Amphibian and Reptile Groups (ARGS), providing a set of online tools (apps) to help our affiliated groups manage their membership and other stakeholders, including land managers and project partners, in a GDPR compliant manner. As…

Read more: How to ARGWEB - video tutorials that cover frequently asked questions

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As winter inevitably gives way to spring, I’ll soon be getting ready to return to my field site in Norfolk for the final year, to collect data for my PhD. For the past two summers, I’ve been busy chasing my target species the barred grass…

Read more: Enter the Natrix: surveying grass snakes in eastern England by Steve Allain

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What's in your pond in the Spring of 2021? Join with our volunteer ARGs right across the UK and Northern Ireland this spring and see who is the first to spot amphibians arriving to breed. Expert amphibian ecologist, Pete West of the Hampshire and Isle…

Read more: What's in your pond? Spawn spotters in 2021

More Articles ...

  1. London ARG (LARG) Relaunch - new year, new start!
  2. ARG UK Policy Statement Concerning Reintroductions
  3. Dragons in the Hills: Music and Myths by the Fireside 1 - with TAP South Armagh and Una Walsh
  4. Dragons in the Hills: Music and Myths by the Fireside 2 - with Marie Murphy
  5. Dragons in the Hills: Music and Myths by the Fireside 3 - with Ann Ward
  6. Dragons in the Hills: Music and Myths by the Fireside 4 - with Seamus Murphy, and music from Colleen Savage and Padraig Carragher
  7. ARG UK Autumn Seminar Series: A celebration of ARG projects - ice age ponds, finding adders and mitigating for reptiles
  8. ARG UK Autumn Seminar Series: What can we do about alien amphibians and reptiles in the UK?
  9. ARG UK Seminar Series: Amphibian diseases – Understanding and managing the spread of a highly aggressive amphibian disease
  10. Dragons in the Hills - news and information from Northern Ireland in 2020
  11. Dragons in the Hills - news from Northern Ireland in 2021
  12. Dragons in the Hills - news from Northern Ireland in 2022
  13. ARG UK Autumn Seminar Series: Engaging community champions – developing and evaluating innovative outreach programmes for amphibians and reptiles with diverse communities.
  14. ARG UK Seminar Series: District Level Licencing – an exploration and evaluation of a new approach to managing great crested newts in the planning system
  15. ARG UK Autumn Seminar Series: Conserving amphibians and reptiles in South Africa, working in harmony with communities to overcome fear and improve local knowledge.
  16. ARG UK Seminar Series: Meeting the challenges of conserving adders in a 21st Century landscape – lessons from England and France. Streamed 17.09.20
  17. ARG UK Autumn Seminar Series - Recording of Dragons in the Hills on 3rd September 2020
  18. 100% success restoring ponds in Derbyshire in 2020
  19. 100% success supporting reptile and amphibian conservation in 2021
  20. Dragons in the Hills - project updates from Northern Ireland
  21. Dragons in the Hills - connecting communities with their natural heritage, and conserving amphibians and reptiles in Northern Ireland
  22. Wildlife Pond Construction and Habitat Creation on an Allotment in Norfolk
  23. Vanishing Viper 2019: A European approach to developing an adder conservation strategy
  24. Creating grass snake egg-laying heaps – the ‘RAVON Recipe’
  25. Look out for toad fly this summer
  26. Keeping everyone safe - Our adder code 'Stop, Step Back and Smile'
  27. Atlas of the Amphibians & Reptiles of Warwickshire (Vice County 38 Records) up to 2018
  28. Wildlife conservation charity urges private amphibian traders to prevent Bsal fungus from infecting wild populations
  29. Press Release: First study of national adder population trends reveals adders are facing near extinction in Britain
  30. Madeleine's Patch - 100% support from ARG UK
  31. Amphibians and Reptiles in Leicestershire and Rutland: A Review (2018)
  32. Chris Packham's - A People's Manifesto for Wildlife
  33. Bsal - a deadly new newt disease on our doorstep!
  34. Two herp conferences in 10 days - Christmas has come early!
  35. Adders are (even more) Amazing - Fun facts and top tips!!
  36. An ARG view of the 2018 Herpetofauna Workers Meeting - In our own words
  37. Networking at the RAVON International Adder Symposium, December 2017
  38. 100% success saving amphibians from drains in Warwickshire
  39. What does the re-classification of European grass snakes mean for our native grass snakes?
  40. 100% fund news - Swabbing midwife toads for chytrid in Cambridgeshire
  41. Snake fungal disease identified in wild British snakes for first time
  42. Review of the 2017 Herpetofauna Workers Meeting, Nottingham, 11-12 February
  43. Revised Advice note 4 - Amphibian Disease Precautions, A Guide for UK Fieldworkers
  44. Latest Updates on GCN licensing reforms
  45. ARG UK 100% fund successes in 2016
  46. Vanishing Viper Presentations Available for Download
  47. The Vanishing Viper: Priorities for Adder Conservation
  48. Herping for the Future - Volunteer with Indigo Expeditions
  49. Kids' stickers and fun fact sheets
  50. Volunteer dates now available for Merseyside Sand Lizard work parties
  51. Volunteer dates now available for Merseyside Sand Lizard work parties (2)
  52. Amphibians and SUDS Conference 2016
  53. The first national adder meeting to take place 8-9 Oct 2016
  54. Updated Amphibian and Reptile Atlases for North East England Released
  55. New for 2016 - the Revised Reptile ID Guide
  56. The 2016 Herpetofauna Workers' Meeting
  57. Report on the South West Region Amphibian and Reptile Groups Conference 2015
  58. Highlights of the First Joint Herpetological Scientific Meeting in Dublin
  59. Finding out more about diseases in our native reptiles and amphibians
  60. ARC Snake Publications
  61. Kent Reptile and Amphibian Group
  62. There's a snake in the garden...
  63. Early Success for the Sefton Coast Sand Lizard Task Force
  64. Round up of the West Midlands Regional Meeting 'Captive breeding & re-introduction of UK reptiles & amphibians'
  65. Amphibians in Drains - Scotland
  66. Make the Adder Count in 2025

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