Media centre

Wednesday 4 May 2005

SNAKE IN THE GRASS ….. AND RAILWAY EMBANKMENTS

Region & Route:

A rare adder population has been discovered beside Kenilworth Common railway line, and Network Rail has teamed up with Warwickshire Amphibian and Reptile Team (WART) to undertake an ecological survey and find out the current status of the reptiles living along the railway embankment. Adders are rare in Warwickshire and only occur in a few known sites in the county, Kenilworth Common being one. While the adders are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act (1981) prohibiting the killing, injuring and selling of this species, Network Rail’s own protected species policy prevents any disturbance of their natural habit along the railway line. Peter Strachan, Route Director said: “It is very important that we help in any way we can to preserve the natural habit of the species living on the railway. A project like this means we can be actively involved in the preservation of a rare species to this area.” Jan Clemons, from WART said: “The help from Network Rail will not only enable us to discover if adders still exist, but the size of the population and whether it is viable. If not, we hope to introduce viable populations by 2010”. Although the adder is Britain’s only venomous snake it is very rarely fatally poisonous and they like nothing more than to be left alone on warm ballast and sunny railway embankments.