Report from Chris Smith
Hedgehog find worth £20
From BBC Scotland News, 14 th February 2004
Islanders in the Outer Hebrides are to be offered £20 for every
hedgehog they hand over to rescuers.
Last year people on Uist were offered £5 per animal and the take-up
was low.
Animal welfare groups are preparing a fresh attempt to stop hedgehogs
being culled by Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH).
The agency is continuing with its project because hedgehogs eat the
eggs of important local ground-nesting birds.
Uist Hedgehog Rescue (UHR) plans to resist any future cull and hopes
to persuade celebrities such as Sting and Joanna Lumley to go to North
Uist to help the campaign.
Last December, SNH agreed to spend £186,475 per year to help rid Uist
of hedgehogs, with the cull set to be extended to the adjoining island
of Benbecula during the latest drive.
Celebrity hopes
Some 5,000 hedgehogs are thought to be a
Protesters, such as UHR, claim the cull policy is "inhumane" and a
waste of taxpayers' money.
Last year UHR, a consortium of animal protection, rehabilitation and
rescue organisations, handed out £5 to islanders for each rescued
hedgehog.
They saved and relocated 156 hedgehogs during their summer-long campaign.
Celebrities including Sting, Sir Paul McCartney, Twiggy, Joanna
Lumley, Sir Tim Rice and Watership Down author Richard Adams all
offered the animals homes over the summer and UHR is hoping they will
do the same this year.
Earlier this month, the People's Trust for Endangered Species (PTES),
shelved plans to move hedgehogs from the Western Isles to the mainland
as an alternative to a cull.
© BBC SCotland News, 14 th February 2004
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