Legal protection for rare frog
Monday, 18 Aug 2008 12:16
The pool frog will now be legally protected
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Minister for wildlife Joan Ruddock has today announced legal protection for a number of rare species.
From October 1st the pool frog, the lesser 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 breeding places destroyed.
The pool frog has existed in Britain for over a thousand years, with remains of the species found in old Saxon sites in Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire.
Populations have decreased rapidly since then and the frogs are now located in just one site in Norfolk.
Ms Ruddock announced today: "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, added: "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."