Report from Chris Smith
Hedgehog Group Begins Rescue Operation
By Andrew Black, Scottish Press Association in the Scotsman, 5 th April 2004
Animal rights activists began a rescue mission today to save hedgehogs in the Western Isles due
to be culled in a controversial programme.
Uist Hedgehog Rescue (UHR) claimed to have already saved 15 of the animals on North Uist
and Benbecula.
The operation is being run by the Uist Wader Project – a partnership including Scottish Natural
Heritage (SNH), RSPB Scotland and the Scottish Executive – which said the cull was needed
because hedgehogs eat eggs of protected wader birds which populate the islands.
Those opposed to the action have called it inhumane and said the animals should be relocated to
the mainland rather than killed.
Speaking from Benbecula, Kay Bullen, of UHR, who is planning to stay on the islands for the
next six weeks, said: "We have already had a good response from residents here who have
been handing in hedgehogs to us and we hope that it will continue."
She added: "SNH seems pretty determined to go ahead with the cull so we're just going to get
down to it and rescue as many hedgehogs as we can.
"We've decided to try to avoid any confrontation and we are not planning to make any protests
or take any direct action to disrupt the cull."
The islands support some of the most important populations of breeding waders in the British
Isles, such as dunlin, redshank and oystercatcher.
Conservationists hope the move will help halt falling bird numbers – which have halved since
the mid 1980s after hedgehogs were introduced to the islands in the 1970s.
One pressure group, Advocates for Animals, which described the cull as "outrageous" has
increased its reward for each hedgehog brought to them during the cull from £5 to £20.
However, the Uist Wader Project said scientific evidence suggested relocation was not a more
humane option.
Meanwhile, the People's Trust for Endangered Species (PTES) claimed that independent
scientific evidence showed that relocating the hedgehogs to the mainland could be undertaken
successfully.
Ecologist Hugh Warwick said a group of hedgehog experts had signed a joint statement calling
on SNH to support relocation.
"This statement is not simply a sentimental response to the events currently unfolding in the
Hebrides but is based on our collective expertise and a genuine concern that relevant scientific
evidence may be being ignored," he said.
PTES chief executive Dr Valerie Keeble added: "We feel that it is very encouraging that
members of the wider scientific community agree with our opinion that the relocation of the
Uist hedgehogs may be a viable alternative to a mass cull.
"The People's Trust for Endangered Species hopes that Scottish Natural Heritage will
reconsider their current position and their previous decision not to give financial support to the
scientific study of relocation that we are advocating."
The original hedgehog cull on North Uist, which took place between April 7 and May 23 last
year, resulted in the removal of 66 of the animals.
Animal rights activists claimed to have rescued 156 hedgehogs during the cull.
© The Scotsman, 5 th April 2004
 |
 |
 |
| Return to index | Return to Exotic Scottish Animals | Return to Hedgehogs |