We can save our native ratty, but will we stump up?

Please click here to hear the interview from the Today Programme on BBC Radio 4 on Tuesday 6 July 2010 :

http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_8791000/8791195.stm

The water vole is one of Britain’s most charismatic native animals but it is also one of our most endangered.  In the International Year of Biodiversity, it appears that we are failing to save this iconic species because of the devastating and unremitting impact of American mink.

However, this bleak future for water voles could be reversed following one of the largest and most scientifically measured studies on water voles which has been carried out by researchers from the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust following a £1.4m river restoration project funded by Defra.

The results of the four-year study are compelling.  Following both the  release of 600 captive- bred water voles on the River Dore in Herefordshire,  combined with the complete removal of American mink over a 400sq km area containing 285 km of river,  the water voles have not only  thrived they are now well-established along the catchment. 

Dr Jonathan Reynolds, who has been leading this research for the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust, said, “This is such good news.  For the first time we have managed to turn back the clock, control an invasive species, previously regarded as difficult to control and restored native biodiversity.”

Until recently, mink have proved difficult to control, mainly because they are often un-noticed until it is too late, but a novel device designed by the Trust – the GWCT Mink Raft – has revolutionised the effective control of these voracious predators.

However, the man-power costs of running mink rafts to detect and trap mink have been heavy -– amounting to £306 per day.  Dr Jonathan Reynolds comments, “Should we question the cost of restoring a native species in trouble? In 1992 Britain committed itself under the Rio Convention to prevent further loss of biodiversity. But this is not happening for water voles and we are failing to save the species because of the continual threat from American mink.”

Dr Reynolds continues, “Water voles can go extinct within weeks of mink reaching them. For the first time this project clearly demonstrates the art of the possible and shows that we can secure the future for water voles by controlling non-native mink.  We are also trialling the use of modern technology to reduce man-power hours by linking mink rafts to an SMS text service via mobile phones. This will cut costs considerably for other users.”

Water voles, have suffered a drastic decline in range and abundance in Britain and nearly 70% of populations identified in a national survey in the late 1980s had been lost by the late 1990s.  As a consequence, water voles are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act and are a Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) species with a target of recovering their pre-1970’s range by 2010.  Despite these special protection measures water vole populations continue to be lost.

Dr Reynolds said, “Our project shows we can save our water voles, and this success could be replicated in other areas.   In the meantime the animals are faring badly in large areas of the country – from Devon, south east England, south and west Wales with complete extinctions in counties such as Cornwall. Our project demonstrates to the wider conservation community what can be achieved using state-of-the-art approaches. We hope our research will form the blueprint that others can follow and will stimulate Government and others into thinking creatively to adapt current expenditure in ways that will restore this quintessential part of natural England.”

The water vole project on the River Dore was supported by Defra’s England Rural Development Programme, the John Ellerman Foundation, SITA Trust and the GWCT.

Photocaption: The bleak future for water voles could be reversed following one of the largest and most scientifically measured studies on water voles which has been carried out by researchers from the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust. 

Photocredit: Derek Middleton.

Notes to editors

The GWCT mink rafts are basically small floating platforms that are moored alongside marginal bank-side vegetation, (the sort of habitat in which a mink hunts voles and water birds).  They are then tethered securely to the bank with a rope.  The rafts consist of a buoyant base that support a simple tracking device for monitoring the paw prints of mink or other wildlife visiting the rafts.

The Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust is an independent wildlife conservation charity which carries out scientific research into Britain’s game and wildlife. We advise farmers and landowners on improving wildlife habitats and we lobby for agricultural and conservation policies based on science. We employ 14 post-doctoral scientists and 50 other research staff with expertise in areas such as birds, insects, mammals, farming and statistics.  We undertake our own research as well as projects funded by contract and grant-aid from Government and private bodies.   The Trust is also responsible for a number of Government Biodiversity Action Plan species and is lead partner for grey partridge and joint lead partner for brown hare and black grouse.

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Morag Walker, Head of Media
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