Adders are 'dying of stress' - wildlife expert

Adders could face near extinction in the next 10 years as the snakes are slowly "starving to death and dying of stress", according to a wildlife expert.

Kevin James, countryside warden from the Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust, said people should leave the UK's only venomous snake "well alone" once they have emerged from hibernation in the spring.

He said the reptile had become a "victim of its own infamy" and urged the public to give them space and to "keep them chilled".

A 2019 study found that adders – protected in the UK under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 – could disappear from the British countryside altogether by 2032.

Mr James works on the Heathland Nature Reserve around Woodhall Spa and said adders were "in desperate need of help".

He said the reptiles hibernate from October and emerge in spring.

During this time, they bask in sunlight, shed their skin, build up their body temperature and can often be seen.

This process is the adder's "critical period", according to Mr James and, if they are disturbed, they will not eat because of stress.

"They're surviving on the previous year's fat reserves," he said.

"They're slowly starving to death."

Adders, according to Mr James, "suffer an enormous amount of stress".

He said, no matter how tempting it can be to get closer to one, people should refrain, give the snake "a wide berth" and leave it alone.

"They need peace and quiet," Mr James said.

"Look then leave. Keep them chilled."

Adders can be found in England, Scotland and Wales, but not in Northern Ireland.

They are distributed across much of Europe and Asia and within the Arctic Circle.

Research from the University of Reading in 2019 said adders could "all but disappear from the UK countryside by 2032".

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