More than a hundred delegates enjoyed another great AHH / BHS weekend herpetology conference at Drayton Manor Resort on March 21st and 22nd. Now firmly established as a major annual event, the conference attracts increasing numbers of people from outside the UK - this year we welcomed a party of no less than seven delegates from Denmark!
With three speakers from the United States this year - Carl Franklin and Viviana Recardez from Texas Turtles and Rachel Pikstein from Pikstein Labs - the event is now truly international. At one point over the weekend, a group of ten people in the hotel bar included four different nationalities....
Add in speakers, sponsors and organisers and more than a hundred and sixty people were in the venue for both days - giving a great atmosphere and keeping the sponsors area very busy during breaks.
Conceived originally as an event that focuses on the care, welfare and breeding of reptiles and amphibians, the conference retains this main theme but can also include talks on wider themes of reptile and amphibian natural history and conservation. Along with the talks, we were delighted to display a number of posters from both UK and US students, highlighting their herpetological research topics.
Attendees of the Saturday evening event enjoyed a dinner, a great talk from Carl on alligator snapping turtles in Texas plus an entertaining quiz! Conference delegates also had the option to join a practical workshop each of the two days, which many did - the rockwork one with James Dale from Aquatect proving especially popular!
Missed it?
- you can see a short video giving a flavour of the event here 2026 Conference Video
- and a copy of the full program here Conference Program
Huge thanks to all the sponsors, the wonderful speakers and of course the voluntary organising team - without all these people, the event simply couldn't happen....
Keep an eye on the BHS website Events page for confirmation of dates of the 2027 event, when finalised!