News

3 April 2004

Animal groups mount Uist hedgehog rescue and slam taxpayer-funded ’unethical killing policy’

Uist Hedgehog Rescue (UHR), a coalition of animal welfare and wildlife rescue groups, is preparing to return to the Uists and Benbecula to resume the hedgehog rescue and relocation project mounted in 2003. This measure has been taken because of the baffling decision made by the Uist Wader Project to kill all the hedgehogs on the Scottish islands. The Uist Wader Project comprises Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH), the Scottish Executive and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds Scotland.

In spite of UHR having shown during its 2003 rescue mission that the hedgehogs could be successfully relocated to the mainland, the Scottish Executive’s ’conservation’ quango, SNH, plans to begin capturing and killing the healthy hedgehogs on Monday 5th April.

The hedgehogs stand accused of eating the eggs of the ground-nesting waders, especially dunlin, snipe, redshank and lapwing. Whilst not disputing the fact that a solution needs to be found to remedy this situation, to kill the hedgehogs rather than relocate them to the mainland is surely over-reacting, quite illogical and wholly irresponsible. During 2003, whilst SNH caught and killed 66 hedgehogs on the islands at a cost to the taxpayer of well over £100,000, UHR successfully relocated 156 of the animals. In fact, each year at least 5,000 hedgehogs are released into the wild by experienced organisations, including the RSPCA and the SSPCA.

In March 2003, the RSPCA stated: "The RSPCA is disappointed by the decision taken by Scottish Natural Heritage to proceed with a cull of hedgehogs on the Western Isles." The criticisms come not just from animal welfare organisations, but also from some of the most respected mammal ecologists in the country. For example, Professor Stephen Harris at Bristol University has said: "Why has SNH not worked with the people who are experienced at this sort of work? SNH has simply made decisions without reference to the experts." And Dr Pat Morris, now retired from London University, stated: "SNH has been obdurate in its communications with the people who know about hedgehog ecology and hedgehog welfare."

UHR’s rescue is also supported by a number of celebrities including Joanna Lumley, Sir Paul McCartney, Sting, Jenny Seagrove, Martin Shaw, Carla Lane, Twiggy, Philippa Forrester, Sir Tim Rice, Richard Adams, Ann Widdecombe, Sir Cameron Mackintosh, Ian Anderson, Baroness Miller and the Duke and Duchess of Hamilton.

An on-line poll has shown strong public support for UHR’s rescue mission with over 90% of respondents believing that SNH should attempt to relocate the hedgehogs as opposed to kill them.

From 4th April to the end of May, representatives from UHR will be based on Benbecula at Taighe Na Cille, 22 Balivanich, Benbecula. UHR volunteers will themselves be collecting hedgehogs as well as receiving them from local islanders for a reward of £20 for each hedgehog. The reward will only be payable to islanders over the age of 18. A brief training on handling hedgehogs will be provided.

A spokesperson for UHR said: "We are surprised and disappointed that Scottish Natural Heritage decided to spend vast amounts of taxpayers’ money killing perfectly healthy hedgehogs again this year. SNH is flying in the face of expert scientific advice, decades of practical experience and public opinion by persisting with this unethical killing policy. We are not disputing the fact that the hedgehogs need to be removed from the islands - we are simply calling for them to be moved live rather than dead. We are baffled as to why SNH is so determined to kill these perfectly healthy wild animals when there is a simple humane solution, which is to move the hedgehogs live to the mainland. We are hoping, with the co-operation and goodwill of the local islanders, to build on last year’s success. We are positive that by working together we will save even more hedgehogs from an untimely and unnecessary death."

Notes to Editors
For further information, interviews, photographs of rescued Uist hedgehogs or photographs of a recent protest by the Duchess of Hamilton and Hamish, UHR’s 6-foot hedgehog mascot, please call Advocates for Animals on 0131 2256039 or out-of-hours on 07946 517585.

To contact a representative of UHR on Benbecula please call Kay Bullen on: 01870 603232 or 07833 646000.

A report, Uist Hedgehogs, by Hugh Warwick, an independent researcher and writer on environmental and ecological matters, which discusses many of the points put forward by the UWP as the basis for killing hedgehogs on the islands can be viewed at: www.advocatesforanimals.org/pdf/UistHedgehogs.pdf. Hugh Warwick can be contacted on 07815 042452.

The results of a poll on the websites of the Mammals Trust revealed that of those who voted, 90.4% wanted the hedgehogs to be relocated.

Uist Hedgehog Rescue is a consortium of organisations and experts consisting of Advocates for Animals, British Hedgehog Preservation Society, Hessilhead Wildlife Rescue Trust and International Animal Rescue.

UHR is appealing to the public for donations to support its rescue mission. Donations should be sent to UHR, c/o Advocates for Animals, 10 Queensferry Street, Edinburgh, EH2 4PG. Cheques made payable to Uist Hedgehog Rescue. Credit card donations can be made by calling 0131 225 6039.

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