BHS AGM 2023

Sunday, 14 May 2023 - Sunday, 14 May 2023

Our AGM this year is being held on Sunday May 14th at the new Community Centre in Amersham - a great venue and accessible by road and rail.   Details of talks are  below and a  program is available here: BHS AGM 2023

There'll also be a digital photo competition, to be judged during the meeting - with Tell Hicks prints as great prizes - check the BHS Facebook page for details: BHS FB

Entry to the AGM is free for BHS members; there is a nominal charge of £10 for non-BHS members to cover cost of refreshments.  To book a no-cost entry, you'll need to be logged in to the website as a BHS member and then select the correct ticket type.

In event of any problem or query, please contact

Three AGM talks planned :

Steve Allain - Establishing a monitoring protocol and investigating the character of skin lesions caused by ophidiomycosis in barred grass snakes (Natrix helvetica) in eastern England

The barred grass snake (Natrix helvetica) is a widespread species in Great Britain, yet there is currently very little monitoring of this species being undertaken at the population level. Therefore, a standardised monitoring protocol was developed to allow for population estimates to be made using capture-mark-recapture. These surveys also allowed researchers to invesitgate the occurence and character of skin lesions caused by the emerging infectious disease ophidiomycosis, which was confirmed to be present at the study site in 2016. This talk will summarise the development of the monitoring protocol, and the results of the disease surveillance.

Rachel Hester - Unravelling the invasion history of the non-native alpine newt and the amphibian pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis in the UK

Biological invasions are one of the primary drivers of global biodiversity decline, and can have detrimental economic and societal impacts. The spread of invasive species to novel regions is fuelled by globalisation and trade, with many introductions being both deliberatively and accidentally facilitated by humans. Amphibians have become established outside of their native range through a number of different routes, from accidental pet escapes to intentional introductions for pest control. In the UK, there are more non-native amphibians than native species, with the greatest potential threat posed by the invasive alpine newt, Ichthyosaura alpestris. These urodeles can act as a vector for the chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), the causative agent of the deadly amphibian infectious disease, chytridiomycosis. All populations of alpine newts sampled to date have tested positive for Bd, and there is speculation that these invasive amphibians are responsible for bringing this pathogen to the UK. This project will utilise genomics and geographic profiling to describe invasion history, comparing the pattern with phylogeography of Bd in Britain. The project will also determine whether human activities play a role in newt dispersal.

  Joshua Fulford -  Parson's chameleon and other reptile conservation, husbandry and breeding programmes at Chester Zoo

 Chester achieved the first UK breeding of Parson's chameleon  in late 2022 !