News

3 April 2003

IFAW supports rescue of uist hedgehogs

Uist Hedgehog Rescue (UHR) today welcomed support from the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) to save the hedgehogs on the islands of Uist and Benbecula. IFAW, who has hundreds of thousands of supporters worldwide, has given a grant of £5,000 to help the rescue mission.

A consortium of organisations and experts working together as UHR have now mounted a rescue mission to save as many hedgehogs as possible on the islands of Uist and Benbecula. The first hedgehog to be rescued by UHR, Hamish, emerged from hibernation last week.

Trained UHR volunteers are now working around the clock to beat Scottish Natural Heritage’s (SNH) deadline of Monday, 7 April - when the slaughter will begin. UHR volunteers will remain on the islands until September, rescuing as many hedgehogs as possible. All of the animals rescued by UHR are being checked by an experienced wildlife veterinary nurse before being transported to the mainland, where they will be released at carefully selected sites. The welfare of the translocated and resident hedgehogs will be paramount.

The UHR rescue mission has been made necessary because of Scottish Natural Heritage’s (SNH) refusal to accept a detailed and feasible rescue plan and scientific study, proposed by UHR. Instead of accepting UHR’s non-lethal solution to the conflict between hedgehogs and birds, SNH is instead, using taxpayers’ money, to unnecessarily kill thousands of healthy hedgehogs.

Notes to Editors
For further information contact: Sian Ross, Director, Baudrans Productions Theatre Company Ltd. Tel: 01592 870188/07736 647493 jane@baudrans.co.uk, www.baudrans.co.uk.

Uist Hedgehog Rescue (UHR) consists of: Advocates for Animals, the British Hedgehog Preservation Society, Hessilhead Animal Rescue Centre,International Animal Rescue, the Mammals Society ans St Tiggywinkles Wildlife Hospital.

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