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Adder collectors!!!: |
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Herpetologic Member Joined: 02 Sep 2003 No. of posts: 35  View other posts by Herpetologic |
Posted: 02 Sep 2003 recent reports of 'persons unknown' travelling around the Essex County collecting Adders!!! and possibly other herps from the wild. So far people have been spotted on Nature Reserves, National Trust Land where healthy Adder populations occur. Rumours are circulating that the people are collecting Adders for some reason - either to sell as live animals (suggestion 1) or to move them to development or proposed development sites (suggestion 2) or to kill them for their skins for leather and their bones for Oriental medicine (suggestion 3). Either way at least four Adder sites have been visited over the last year where evidence of the hibernation areas have been disturbed (at Epping Forest) and where people have been spotted handling Adders. Would anyone have heard any rumours of any snakes being sold in London or elsewhere. I remember visiting a pet shop that sold reptiles and the shop owner told me that adders can fetch a good price in other countries is this true? Also a very keen adder watcher in the Epping forest Area had overheard someone in a barbers saying he sells Adders for ú20 and Grass snakes for ú10 this was in North East London!! Has anyone else seen this sort of thing in other parts of the country? A registration number has been noted in Essex and if anyone would like to have the description of the car and the number please email me
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- Adder collectors!!! |