This 1 1/2 day course is aimed at professionals and assumes some prior experience of water vole ecology, but will cover field-signs of water voles and other easily-confused species, and will reference scientific research on the impacts of different habitat availability and health and welfare considerations. We will cover legislation, different types of mitigation and when each is suitable by working through a series of case studies and discussing potential solutions to each. This will include the implications of live-capture, transportation and maintaining water voles in captivity as well as considerations for effective re-establishment of water voles. Finally we will undertake a field visit to identify field signs and learn how to set traps. The following day we will check and collect traps, processing any captured voles as we go. Assuming we capture water voles, participants will gain an understanding of practical animal welfare considerations and how to handle water voles safely.

This course will be run by Dr Merryl Gelling – Merryl works at the Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU), Oxford University, is the Director of Spires Ecology, and sits on the Mammal Society Council.  She is currently carrying out research into the efficacy of displacement on water voles.

*Accommodation and food is NOT included 

Date: 20th & 21st September 2017

Location: Abingdon

Prices:

Member £179.00

Student/Concession member £179.00

Non member: £259.00

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