insideKENT Magazine Issue 84 - March 2019 | Page 131

IN ASSOCIATION WITH
EDUCATION
HADLOW COLLEGE TO UNDERTAKE
NATIONAL ‘TURTLE TALLY’ CITIZEN SCIENCE PROJECT
IN THE WORLD OF NATURE CONSERVATION, THE POTENTIALLY DEVASTATING EFFECT OF
INVASIVE SPECIES ON NATIVE ECOSYSTEMS IS A CONSTANT TOPIC OF DISCUSSION. THERE
HAS BEEN MUCH RECENT DISCUSSION AROUND THE POST-BREXIT NATURE AND BIODIVERSITY
STRATEGY, INCLUDING EU REGULATION 1143/2014 – ON INVASIVE ALIEN SPECIES (IAS) –
WHICH CAME INTO FORCE ON 1ST JANUARY 2015. IT HAS YET TO BE CLARIFIED HOW THE LIST
OF INVASIVE ALIEN SPECIES OF UNION CONCERN, WHICH IS CENTRAL TO THIS REGULATION,
WILL BE UPDATED AND ADMINISTERED WHEN THE UK LEAVES THE EU.
Further restrictions may be applied on keeping,
selling, breeding and growing, which may result in
many reptile breeders being forced to keep their
animals for life, rather than give them away or sell
them. Consequently, this has the potential to result
in many animals being abandoned into the wild. To
address some of these concerns, Hadlow College
will be launching a citizen science project this spring
to collect data from the general public on introduced
turtle and terrapin species in the UK.
Launching in association with the British
Herpetological Society (BHS), the project, dubbed
‘Turtle Tally’, will enable people across the UK to
submit their sightings over three weekends – 30th
& 31st March, 6th & 7th April and 13th & 14th
April – to a website: www.hadlow.ac.uk/turtletally.
The site will allow users to record location, supply
photographs of the animal, time of day and date
sighted and will include identification keys provided
by ARG UK and London, Essex and Hertfordshire
Amphibian and Reptile Trust. The project has been
devised in consultation with Paul Eversfield, a turtle
expert and council member of the BHS, Chris
Newman of the National Centre for Reptile Welfare
and teaching staff from Hadlow’s Animal
Management faculty.
Over the years, the popularity of film franchises such
as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles has resulted in
spikes in demand for the creatures as pets, with the
number of suppliers rising in tandem to meet this
demand. Local Authority Inspectors now have to
ensure that commercial pet retailers and breeders
meet stricter welfare standards.
Suzanne Simpson, Hadlow College Animal
Management lecturer, BHS council member and
project lead, said: “We already have a large number
of introduced turtle species frequenting lakes, rivers
and ponds such as red-eared and yellow-bellied
sliders, but the numbers have not been investigated
in enough detail to know what the actual quantity
is. The soaring temperatures over last summer also
mean that it’s more likely for eggs to incubate and
potentially hatch.
“Obtaining data through this project would aid in
gauging the impact of the legislative changes and
the potential increase of turtle releases into the wild.
The data submissions we receive will then be analysed
by our students as part of their degree project.”
The college is also hoping that the project will help
to raise awareness of its National Centre for Reptile
Welfare, established in order to reduce the amount
of unwanted reptiles and amphibians abandoned
into the wild, invasive or otherwise.
www.hadlow.ac.uk
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