Natural Environment
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Trinity, Jersey, JE3 5JP
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Conservation of Wildlife (Jersey) Law 2000
Amendment of Schedules 1 (Part 1) and 4
Purpose of the Report
The purpose of this report is to request that the Minister authorise the drafting of an Order amending Schedules 1 (Part 1) and 4 to the Conservation of Wildlife (Jersey) Law 2000, in order to substitute the Grass snake (Natrix natrix) with the Barred grass snake (Natrix helvetica).
Background
The grass snake Natrix natrix is listed on Schedules 1 and 4 of the Conservation of Wildlife (Jersey) Law 2000.
Modern research methods and DNA analytical techniques sometimes lead to a greater understanding of the relationships within and between species. Recent research has required a change in the taxonomy of some species which are represented locally.
A recent study (Kindler et al., 2017) of grass snakes across their wide range has resulted in the renaming of grass snakes in north-west Europe. Further research (Ward et al., 2017) has confirmed that Jersey’s grass snakes also belong to this newly named species. The species is currently described in the Law as the grass snake Natrix natrix and the naming has changed to the barred grass snake Natrix helvetica (Fritz and Kindler, 2017). In order to ensure that the correct species is identified in the Law it is proposed to amend Schedules 1 and 4 accordingly.
The proposed Conservation of Wildlife (Amendment No.) (Jersey) Order 2014 would confirm the protected status of the populations found in Jersey of the above species for the purposes of the Law.
References
Fritz, U. & Kindler, C. (2017). A very European tale – Britain still has only three snake species, but its grass snake is now assigned to another species (Natrix helvetica). Herpetological Bulletin 141, 44‒45.
Kindler, C., Chèvre, M,. Ursenbacher, S., Böhme, W., Hille, A., Jablonski, D., Vamberger, M. & Fritz, U. (2017): Hybridization patterns in two contact zones of grass snakes reveal a new Central European snake species. Scientific Reports 7, 7378.
Ward, R.J. (2017). Status and conservation of the grass snake in Jersey. PhD Thesis, University of Kent.
Recommendation
The Minister is recommended to approve the drafting of an Order amending Schedules 1 (Part 1) and 4 to the Conservation of Wildlife (Jersey) Law 2000
Written by: Principal Ecologist and Assistant Director
Growth, Housing and Environment
Approved by: Director – Natural Environment
Growth, Housing and Environment
24th January 2019
Ministerial Case: MD-PE-2019-0016
NE-WR-Grass Snake Amendment 23.1.19