Report from Chris Smith
Hedgehog cull alternative spiked
From BBC Scotland News, 3 rd February 2003
A wildlife charity which was planning to move hedgehogs from the
Western Isles to the mainland as an alternative to a cull has shelved
the project.
The People's Trust for Endangered Species (PTES) had been gearing up
for the trial relocation.
But it has criticised Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH), which runs the
cull on North Uist, South Uist and Benbecula, because it would not
provide funding.
SNH said paying for the study was a wrongful use of taxpayers' money.
The chief executive of the wildlife charity, Valerie Keeble, claimed
the cost of the relocation project had quadrupled to £160,000, a bill
which she said would be impossible to pay through current contributions.
Dr Keeble claimed the heritage body should have part-paid costs
because it had agreed to a scientific study on the matter.
In an open letter to SNH she wrote: "SNH's intransigence in refusing
to provide some financial backing is particularly disappointing as, in
spite of the difficulties, we had secured at least half the monies
required, a considerable achievement in such a short period.
"We believe it is extremely short-sighted of SNH not to contribute."
Dr Keeble said her organisation and its scientific advisers spent a
considerable amount of charitable resources on what turned out to be a
"failed attempt to devise a proposal acceptable to both parties that
could be implemented in practice".
She added: "It is our view that SNH has wasted valuable charity time
and finances, delayed decision-making to the extent that it imperilled
the possible implementation of plans and failed to keep the open mind
it promised with regard to finding an alternative solution to this
most difficult of problems."
According to PTES research, at least 1,000 hedgehogs would have to be
killed every year for at least 15 years for the islands to be cleared
of the animals.
Open minded
The cull, carried out to protect the Uist's wader bird population,
caught 66 of the estimated 90 hedgehogs on the south end of North Uist
and is to resume in April.
An SNH spokesman said the organisation believed there to be
significant animal welfare problems associated with moving hedgehogs
to the mainland - both for the Uist and mainland hedgehogs.
But he added: "We have however always remained open to being proved
wrong on this. The offer of 60 animals for a trial translocation was
made in this spirit.
"We are disappointed there is to be no trial, but the SNH board was
adamant that it would not fund the exercise."
The body plans to cull hedgehogs on North Uist and Benbecula this
coming spring, at a cost of about £300 per animal.
© BBC SCotland News, 3 rd February 2003
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