Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
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Kermitted to frog protection
Legal protection for a rare frog with a distinctive accent was announced today by Minister for Wildlife, Joan Ruddock.
From 1 October 2008, the pool frog together with the lesser whirlpool ram's-horn snail and the Fisher's estuarine moth will be legally protected through the Habitats Regulations from being killed, taken, injured, disturbed, owned or sold, or having their resting or breeding places destroyed.
The pool frog has a long British history, with archaeological investigations revealing evidence from around 1000AD, with pool frog remains found around old Saxon sites in Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire. However the last pool frog died in the 1990s after its populations declined to just one site in Norfolk.
A partnership led by Natural England and The Herpetological Conservation Trust helped reintroduce the pool frog to a secret site in Norfolk three years ago, where targeted habitat restoration has produced ideal conditions. Frogs were imported from Sweden under special permission.
Joan Ruddock said:
"Working in harmony with nature is becoming more and more important as increasing demands are made on our environment. The UK's native species need our support, and I hope today's announcement will help give the pool frog a secure future."
Natural England's amphibian specialist, Jim Foster, said: "It is vitally important to have this kind of protection in place for the pool frog before we could consider reintroducing them to new ponds in other parts of East Anglia.
"Early signs are encouraging that the pool frogs are settling in to the current release site. However, it will be several years before we can confidently assess the success of this reintroduction."
Notes to Editors
1. Photos of the pool frog, lesser
whirlpool ram's horn snail, and Fisher's estuarine moth
are available from the Defra press office. A sound recording of
the pool frog's distinctive mating call is also available.
2. The Habitats Regulations translate the European Habitats Directive into domestic law. They define the species of animal native to Great Britain that are listed in the EC Habitats Directive as species in need of strict protection. Further details can be found at http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si1994/Uksi_19942716_en_1.htm
3. The lesser whirlpool ram's-horn snail is a small aquatic snail with a flattened spiral shell rarely more than 5mm in diameter. It occurs in unpolluted, calcareous waters in marsh drains with dense aquatic foliage. It is threatened by land drainage and inappropriate habitat management. It is restricted to a few locations in Norfolk, Suffolk and Sussex.
4. The Fisher's estuarine moth is already afforded some protection under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. It is a noctuid moth restricted to a small area of seawalls and coastal grassland in North East Essex. It is threatened by sea level rises and inappropriate management of habitats. The total population is estimated at 1000 - 5000 adult moths. There has previously been some debate over the taxonomy of the moth, so it had not previously been designated as a European Protected Species.
5. Pool frogs have been returned to England thanks to a range of organisations working in partnership under the UK Biodiversity Action Plan: Anglian Water, Natural England, Forestry Commission, The Herpetological Conservation Trust, University of Greenwich, DICE - University of Kent, University of Sussex, amateur zoologists, Institute of Zoology and Swedish authorities. Further details on the pool frog can be found at http://naturalengland.communisis.com/naturalenglandshop/docs/R642%20part%201.pdf
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