The adder (Vipera berus) is Britain’s only native venomous snake, which is having a bit of a tough time and suffers from a major image problem in the public media. Populations are patchy and concentrated in a mosaic of heathlands, coastal dunes, rough grassland, open woodland edges and mosaic farmland. Many historic localities have experienced declines or local extinctions. With this in mind, the Vanishing Viper 2025 was a two-day, specialist conference held in Molloy Hall at the University of Chester on 6–7 September 2025, organised by the Amphibian and Reptile Groups of the UK (ARG UK) in partnership with the University of Chester and Amphibian & Reptile Conservation (ARC). The event drew an audience made up of conservation NGOs, local ARG volunteers, land managers, statutory agencies, academic researchers, consultant ecologists and students from across the UK (with some representation from mainland Europe).

The Vanishing Viper conference brought together researchers, land managers, volunteers and statutory bodies to discuss the worrying declines of the adder. The meeting combined case-study talks and practical workshops, and important outputs included a renewed emphasis on landscape-scale conservation, with new guidance on translocation published by Amphibian & Reptile Conservation (ARC) during the meeting (although drafted beforehand), and strengthened commitments to monitoring, public engagement and connectivity projects. Although talks covered numerous topics, the conference programme and sessions clustered around a few recurring themes, such as landscape-scale conservation and connectivity. Specific implications include the need for adder-related projects to increasingly prioritise linkages between sites, buffer zones and cross-owner agreements to reduce isolation. There is also a need to expand the Make the Adder Count, so ARGs and partners can continue to monitor national trend analyses.

Speakers highlighted how local adder populations are vulnerable when isolated, and how habitat mosaics, corridors and coordinated management across ownership boundaries are required to maintain viable populations. Several regional projects were presented as working examples although there are still lots of questions that remain unanswered. The need for consistent, long-term monitoring to detect trends and evaluate interventions was emphasised, with new genomic monitoring methods and data-sharing approaches were discussed. In terms of translocation, ARC used the conference to launch a national strategy for conservation translocation of the adder, explaining that translocation can play a role but should generally be a lower-order tool compared to habitat conservation and connectivity work. The strategy recommends careful case-by-case decision-making and further research to improve outcomes. Workshops examined how best to communicate with landowners, recreationists and the wider public to reduce persecution, manage fear and promote coexistence, an essential strand given that persecution and intentional killing remain significant threats in some areas. There was also a highlight with a case study from Hungary with regards to the conservation of the meadow viper (V. ursinii). This successful project has different goals and outcomes to those currently in place for the adder, although demonstrate that drastic and radical snake conservation programs can work if necessary.

Why does all of this matters? Translocation is expensive, technically challenging and frequently controversial. By issuing a national strategy, ARC has given land managers and agencies a common framework for deciding when and how translocation may be appropriate, reducing ad-hoc or poorly planned projects and encouraging rigorous monitoring and evidence-gathering. That shift should improve long-term success rates and avoid unintended ecological or genetic consequences. The genetic health of population took a front and centre stage, and this new tool is going to be critical for the future survival of this species in Great Britain, especially through informing translocations. However, no single conference can solve long-term declines. A few limitations and open questions highlighted at Vanishing Viper demonstrate that data gaps still remain and robust population trend data for many regions are still limited. This weakens the evidence base for prioritising interventions.

Another barrier to the conservation of adders is funding and capacity. Landscape-scale projects need long-term funding and personnel, volunteering is strong but cannot always substitute for paid ecological management. There are also conflicting land-use pressures such as renewable-energy development, afforestation or intensifying agriculture, these create trade-offs with adder-suitable open habitats that will require careful negotiation. There is also the need to change public attitudes where persecution remains but this issue is not easily fixed. It requires local education and engagement with sustained investment. Despite all of these ongoing problems, the conference discussions acknowledged these gaps and recommended specific follow-up actions to help adders to recover from their ongoing declines. Therefore, Vanishing Viper 2025 was framed less as a summary of past work and more as a launching pad for coordinated, landscape-level action. After attending, I am cautiously optimistic for the future of our adders in Great Britain.

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