Graham Smith
Urban mammals in the UK
I started my career looking at the control of rabies in urban foxes in the UK, when foxes were becoming more common in urban areas. I have now spent more than 30 years leading research for the UK government on wildlife management and contingency planning. This has included disease management in foxes, badgers and rodents, and population management of pests and invasive species (e.g. ruddy ducks, and more recently a European shrew). I edited “Management of Disease in Wild Mammals” and as Lead Scientist for APHA I’m responsible for overseeing the delivery of ~£6m funding each year, and acting as the main advisor to the UK government on wildlife issues. More recently I have led on citizen science data collection, which tends to focus in more urban areas, and it is in urban areas that wildlife conflict can be most demanding.