PROTECTED SPECIES IS A EFFING JOKE!!

What we need is an eccentric multi-millionairre to set up a Wildlife Protection Trust with oodles of money and no function other than a) to prosecute those who flout the law (using both UK and EU legislation) - primary targets being government and governmental organisations and b) to loudly publicise all such acts

Any of you won the Euromillions lately? 

Chris

Since I work with (not for) ARC I feel bound to make some comment addressing various comments above:-

Firstly, the mention of political issues:- yes, ARC do have to be politically aware in their actions. They, of neccessity, work closely with NE (and of course our other national conservation agencies) and have to steer a tricky path between conservation requirements and preserving essential relationships.

The mention above of "faceless people behind quangos masquerading as trust bodies" is, in the context of ARC, in all honesty both inaccurate and insulting. They certainly aren't faceless - most of them (staff and trustees) are identified on the website and are indeed known to many people on this forum. They are not a Quango, nor anything like one. And their staff are genuine herp lovers, with immense knowledge and who put an enormous amount of time and effort into conservation.

Although the majority of ARC's funding comes from from other trusts/charities, another source is money from NE etc. So, it could be argued that they are, like quangos, paid by the government (i.e. us!). In practice, however, this is a small proportion. The question is, however, if they did set themselves against NE rather than trying to work with them and their political masters, what other organisation has the knowledge and abilities to actually lead the SAPs (or whatever the current version is called). And that's not about "political agendas" or "not rocking the boat" - it is about that  knowledge and ability - the competence for the task.  

ARC put a huge amount of work into herp conservation with minimal (and not particularly well paid) staff many of whom work hours which would be more appropriate to Victoriana. It's not that long ago that I met a staff member regarding the captive breeding programme at 0200 after a day on which he had been working since 0600 - and that is not that unusual.

What they do is well documented on their website.

Lastly, since it is almost unheard of for the police to take any form of legal action against those who do contravene the laws protecting herps, how on earth do you expect a small charity with minimum funds to pursue such action with the huge costs it would involve? The RSPCA may have that sort of money and, indeed, just once (to my knowledge) prosecuted someone for killing an adder, but ARC don't! And, quite simply, it is the responsibility of law enforcement agencies to enforce the law.

Quite honestly, when I look at the huge achievements of ARC over the years (and yes, we all know they are all too little compared to what is needed) and the immeasurable amount of work that goes into it, unthinking comments like these make my blood boil.

If you want them to do more, then support them so that they can have the capability. But I doubt there is much hope of that - despite requests on this site's home page  virtually since its inception, the only two individuals I am aware of who have sunk money into this website are myself and Gemma - are herpers not prepared to put their money where their mouth is?

And, incidentally, ARC and ARG both do contribute financially to supporting this website (but have NO editorial control) - because they value it and your contributions - and both will welcome constructive criticism of what they do and practical suggestions of how they might do more.

END OF RANT

Chris