Press release: Rare hazel dormice reintroduced into Leicestershire, creating the county’s only known population

Landmark conservation effort aims to restore rare hazel dormice, classified as ‘Vulnerable’ on the IUCN Red List for Britain’s Mammals, to combat the national decline of 70% since 2000

This week, over 20 rare hazel dormice have been reintroduced into a secret woodland location in Leicestershire by wildlife charity People’s Trust for Endangered Species (PTES) and partners, creating the county’s only known population of the tiny golden-coated mammal.

The dormice have been released into a woodland on the Bradgate Park Trust estate, which is a Site of Special Scientific Interest and part of a National Nature Reserve. It has been carefully selected with the help of the Leicestershire & Rutland Wildlife Trust, the Leicestershire & Rutland Mammal Group, the National Forest and Twycross Zoo. Together with PTES, they have ensured the woodland is suitable for dormice now and into the future, thanks to ongoing sympathetic woodland management by Bradgate Park Trust which creates an ideal habitat for dormice and other woodland species.

This landmark conservation effort, led by PTES, is a crucial part of ongoing work to save hazel dormice, which have declined nationally by 70% since 2000. Dormice are considered extinct from 20 English counties since Victorian times and are categorised as ‘Vulnerable’ on the IUCN Red List for Britain’s Mammals.

The reintroduction builds on the success of the nearby 2023 dormouse reintroduction at NT Calke Abbey which saw 38 dormice return to the National Forest for the very first time. Despite that release being within the forest’s Derbyshire border, this secondary reintroduction is a vital step forward for dormouse recovery nationally and regionally, which will one day form part of a wider population spanning the whole forest.

Ian White, Dormouse & Training Officer at People’s Trust for Endangered Species explains: “Despite once being a common part of Britain’s woodlands and hedgerows, hazel dormice have experienced a historic and catastrophic decline due to habitat loss, degradation and poor management of woodlands and hedgerows, compounded by a changing climate. PTES’ reintroductions, alongside habitat management, landscape projects and monitoring, are paramount to their long-term survival.”

“Since the programme began in 1993, we have released 1,142 dormice into 26 different woodlands in 13 counties – including six English counties where they had previously been lost. This is a phenomenal achievement and is a great step towards restoring hazel dormice to their former range, but this is only possible with the correct woodland management in place, and of course with the help of our partners.”

James Dymond, Director, Bradgate Park Trust said: “Bradgate Park estate is home to some of the best ancient woodland remaining in Leicestershire, which is why it was chosen as the dormice’s new home. As a small charity, we are proud to be entrusted with the care of these rare and charming creatures. This reintroduction is a testament to the past woodland management efforts on the estate, and we are committed to ensuring this special habitat continues to thrive—not only for the dormice, but for a wide range of other rare species that call it home too.”

Ben Devine, Head of Nature Recovery at the Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust added: “This release is an exciting first step in helping dormice not only locally, but nationally too. Ensuring the right landscape and habitat is in place is key to ensuring continued nature recovery, and we will continue to monitor the dormice to ensure that Leicestershire’s only known population thrives and one day expands beyond Bradgate Park estate.”

PTES’ annual dormouse reintroductions are part of Natural England’s Species Recovery Programme. The wider partnership involves crucial work by the Common Dormouse Captive Breeders Group whose members, including Wildwood Trust, raise captive-bred dormice ready for release.

The dormice then travel to Paignton Zoo, ZSL, and this year Twycross Zoo, to undergo an eight-week quarantine period. During their stay each golden-coloured dormouse gets a full nose-to-tail health check by wildlife vets, including ZSL’s Disease Risk Analysis and Health Surveillance (DRAHS) team, to make sure only healthy dormice are released and that there’s no risk of them transferring diseases or non-native parasites to other local wildlife. Once they’re given a clean bill of health, they’re carefully taken to their new woodland home to be released by PTES and partners.

Local volunteers from Bradgate Park Trust and the Leicestershire & Rutland Mammal Group are instrumental in helping the dormice settle into their new home. During the release day, PTES, partners and volunteers gently place the dormice, in their nest boxes, into larger mesh cages filled with foliage, buds, berries, nuts and water where they acclimatise to their new surroundings.

Volunteers will then carry out daily checks and top up their food and water, and after 10 days a final health check from ZSL’s DRAHS team takes place. After this, the mesh cage doors are opened to allow the dormice to explore the wider woodland. In time they will start to breed and disperse into new woodland and hedge areas, and the mesh cages will be removed.

To find out more about PTES’ dormouse conservation work, visit www.ptes.org/dormice.

– ENDS –

A Dropbox link to high-res images and footage from the reintroduction will be available for media use. For this link, or to arrange interviews with experts, please contact Adela Cragg:

T: 07532685614

E: adelacraggPR@outlook.com

Notes to editors

Available for interview

• Ian White, Dormouse & Training Officer – People’s Trust for Endangered Species
• James Dymond, Director – Bradgate Park Trust
• Dr Helen O’Brien, Chair – Leicestershire & Rutland Mammal Group
• Ben Devine, Head of Nature Recovery – Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust
• Other partners, as requested

About People’s Trust for Endangered Species (PTES)

• PTES, a UK conservation charity created in 1977, is ensuring a future for endangered species throughout the world. We protect some of our most threatened wildlife species and habitats, and provide practical conservation support through research, grant-aid, educational programmes, wildlife surveys, publications and public events.
• PTES’ current priority species and habitats include hazel dormice, hedgehogs, water voles, noble chafers, stag beetles, traditional orchards, native woodlands, wood pasture and parkland and hedgerows.
• Visit www.ptes.org and follow PTES on Facebook, Bluesky, Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn.
• ROLE IN REINTRODUCTION: Manage and fund the annual dormouse reintroduction programme.

About Bradgate Park Trust

• The Bradgate Park Trustcares for the internationally important landscapes of Bradgate Park and Swithland Wood and their rich wildlife, including Leicestershire’s largest wild red and fallow deer herds. These sites that form the Estate are nationally protected by legislation, as are many of the heritage features of Bradgate Park. 
• www.bradgatepark.org/  
• ROLE IN REINTRODUCTION: Owners of the woodland location where the dormice are released.

About the Common (Hazel) Dormouse Captive Breeders Group

• Formed in the early 1990’s by a group of like-minded mammal conservationists. The first releases were carried out in 1993 under the auspices of the Natural England Species Recovery Programme for the Hazel dormouse Muscardinus avellanarius. Neil Bemment has been Chairman with responsibility for coordinating the activities of the CDCBG since 2000, while the studbook is currently maintained by Suzanne Kynaston, with assistance from Hazel Ryan, at the Wildwood Trust, Kent.
• ROLE IN REINTRODUCTION: Supply captive-bred hazel dormice for the reintroduction programme.

About the Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust

• The Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust is a locally based registered charity (number 210531), concerned with all aspects of nature conservation. Its vision is to create a Living Landscape rich in wildlife, valued and enjoyed by all. The Trust works to protect and enhance the wildlife and wild places of Leicestershire and Rutland and to engage people with nature. The Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust belongs to a network of 46 Wildlife Trusts across the UK taking action to protect our unique natural heritage. The Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts (RSWT) acts as a national voice, generates support and provides leadership for the movement. https://www.lrwt.org.uk/
• ROLE IN REINTRODUCTION: Scoped woodland site to ensure it is suitable for dormice.

About the Leicestershire & Rutland Mammal Group

• The L&R Mammal Group was formed in 2020 to promote the study and conservation of mammals and their habitats in Leicestershire and Rutland by developing and implementing recording, monitoring and research initiatives, providing advice to support mammal conservation and raising awareness of rare and vulnerable mammals, their ecology and conservation needs. Helen O’Brien is also the County Mammal Recorder for Leicestershire & Rutland (Vice-County 55) which covers both the Calke and Bradgate Estates, providing an opportunity to link the two projects together.
• ROLE IN REINTRODUCTION: Scoped woodland site to ensure it is suitable and are providing volunteers on the day itself and for post-release monitoring and care.

About Natural England

• Natural England works with People’s Trust for Endangered Species to provide an ongoing programme of funding, coordination and monitoring of the dormouse recovery project. Natural England works for people, places and nature to conserve and enhance biodiversity, landscapes and wildlife in rural, urban, coastal and marine areas. They conserve and enhance the natural environment for its intrinsic value, the wellbeing and enjoyment of people, and the economic prosperity it brings.
• www.naturalengland.org.uk.
• ROLE IN REINTRODUCTION: The annual dormouse reintroductions are part of Natural England’s Species Recovery Programme, which is part-funded by Natural England.

About the National Forest Company

• The National Forest, spanning 200 square miles across Derbyshire, Leicestershire, and Staffordshire, began in the early 1990s as a pioneering environmental regeneration project. As the first large-scale broadleaf forest created in over 900 years, it has transformed a post-industrial Midlands landscape into a thriving, multi-purpose forest. With over nine million trees planted, forest cover has risen from 6% to 25%, approaching double the national average for woodland cover. The Forest serves as a national model for how the natural environment can drive regeneration, support climate change mitigation and adaptation, create wildlife habitats, improve air quality, reduce flooding, and promote education, wellbeing, and green business growth.
• The National Forest Company (charity no: 1166563) leads the creation of the National Forest, working in partnership with landowners, local authorities, businesses and its communities. It has strong support from government, politicians and the public, and continues to be supported by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
• ROLE IN REINTRODUCTION: Scoped woodland site to ensure it is suitable for dormice.

About Paignton Zoo

• Paignton Zoo, together with Newquay Zoo and three nature reserves, Slapton Ley National Nature Reserve, Primley Park and Clennon Gorge, are all part of the charity Wild Planet Trust.
• Wild Planet Trust co-ordinates wildlife conservation projects both in the UK and overseas, as well as research projects on topics such as animal behaviour, nutrition, enrichment and ecology.
• Wild Planet Trust is helping to halt species decline and acts to protect at-risk animals and plants from the impacts of biodiversity loss.  We believe that every species is important, everything is connected and every action matters.
• Both Paignton Zoo and Newquay Zoo are members of the British & Irish Association of Zoos & Aquariums (BIAZA). BIAZA is a conservation, education and wildlife charity representing over 100 of the best zoos and aquariums in Britain and Ireland.
• Visit www.paigntonzoo.org.uk and follow Paignton Zoo on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.
• ROLE IN REINTRODUCTION: Quarantine dormice to ensure only healthy dormice are released.

About Twycross Zoo

• Twycross Zoo is a registered charity (501841) which exists to support the conservation, education and research of some of the most endangered species on the planet. It is the only UK zoo home to four great apes – chimpanzee, gorilla, orangutan and bonobo; and as part of its 2030 Strategy is working at the forefront of conservation and scientific research to become a global force in biodiversity conservation. 
• Goal Five of Twycross Zoo’s 2030 Conservation Strategy is dedicated to ‘Caring for our UK ecosystems’ which includes its target to ‘Reverse The Red’ for dormice. 
• Twycross Zoo is one of the UK’s major charity zoos, caring for hundreds of animals from around 70 different species. It welcomes around 700,000 visitors a year to its 100-acre site in Leicestershire. 
• Twycross Zoo is a member of European and international organisations, including the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums (BIAZA), the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA), and the World Association of Zoos and Aquaria (WAZA).
• ROLE IN REINTRODUCTION: Quarantine dormice to ensure only healthy dormice are released.

About Wildwood Trust

• Wildwood is an international centre of excellence for the conservation of British Wildlife. Since 1999, the charity, which has wildlife parks in Devon and Kent, has been devoted to protecting, conserving and rewilding the UK. The purpose is to give native species a future. Wildwood Trust has taken part in many ground-breaking conservation programmes to date, which include, saving the water vole, using wild horses to help restore Kent’s most precious nature reserves and bringing the extinct European beaver back to Britain. Later this year, the trust will be opening – in partnership with Restore – England’s first ever purpose built breeding facility for invertebrates at its Devon site. This promises to transform the future of some of the country’s most endangered, and extinct, invertebrate species. 
• Visit the website here: https://wildwoodtrust.org/
• ROLE IN REINTRODUCTION: Supply captive-bred hazel dormice for the reintroduction programme and manage the studbook to ensure genetic diversity.

About ZSL

Founded in 1826, ZSL is an international conservation charity, driven by science, working to restore wildlife in the UK and around the world; by protecting critical species, restoring ecosystems, helping people and wildlife live together and inspiring support for nature. Through our leading conservation zoos, London and Whipsnade, we bring people closer to nature and use our expertise to protect wildlife today, while inspiring a lifelong love of animals in the conservationists of tomorrow. Visit www.zsl.org for more information.

ZSL’s Disease Risk Analysis and Health Surveillance (DRAHS) veterinary experts help mitigate the risk from disease during dormice translocations. They ensure that the dormice are fit and healthy for release, and free of non-native parasites, and have the best chance of survival in their new forest home.

ROLE IN REINTRODUCTION: Quarantine dormice to ensure only healthy dormice are released.

 

 Lead image credit Matt Parkins