Dr Rufus Sage, Head of Lowland Gamebird Research at the GWCT spoke directly to Shooting UK on the issue, commenting: “While adder populations are declining in the UK, it is likely that habitat loss and degradation and disturbance are the most important factors. There is no robust evidence that pheasant predation affects the UK adder population or contributes to the decline or loss of local populations, as suggested.
“The headlines referring to extinctions by 2032 are misleading (see the GWCT ‘What the Science Says’ piece for details). In the context of other modern land-uses however, pheasants are a plausible contributing factor to local declines. GWCT best practice guidelines ask game managers to consider and avoid especially sensitive sites and this should include siting release pens on or next to known adder colonies. Further research on the potential impacts of gamebird release on reptiles is required.”
