Slow worms are Britain's most widespread reptile but are frequently misidentified and harmed through mistaken identity with snakes, while their welfare depends on undisturbed garden and rough grassland habitat.
Slow worm welfare is primarily threatened by deliberate killing (from mistaken identification as snakes), cat predation, and habitat loss through over-tidied gardens and intensive land management. Deliberate killing, though illegal, occurs regularly when slow worms are found by people who believe them to be snakes. Cat predation is particularly significant because even non-lethal cat mauling causes severe stress and injury - slow worms that survive initial capture may die from infection or stress-induced immune compromise. The welfare case for providing refugia in gardens is both individual and population level: refugia provide essential thermoregulation sites that are increasingly rare in tidy suburban environments.