Hedgehog protection: our letter to The Times

Hedgehog _photo _LCampbell Dear Sir,

In 2008 water voles were given protection from developers when they were added to Schedule 5 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act. The fragmentation of riverside habitat by development was certainly a problem, although pro-active control of mink has arguably been far more important, and the influence of legislation on developments remains to be seen.

An informed parliamentary debate on increasing legal protection for hedgehogs (Hedgehogs need the same level of protection as red squirrels) should reveal how little we really know about trends in hedgehog numbers.

One thing we do know is that hedgehogs fare best where there are fewer badgers, an uncomfortable truth we have yet to accommodate in conservation plans.

Andrew Gilruth
Director of Communication

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Comments

Badgers

at 17:52 on 17/02/2016 by Robert Hall-Jones

It is high time that a practical approach is taken to control the burgeoning population of badgers. Our hedgehog population has plummeted and I suspect it is because the number of badgers has rocketed.We have had a local road closed because badgers have undermined it and caused some subsidence and this road has been closed for 18 months so far because Natural England will not allow the badger population to be destroyed. The situation has been farcical in that Natural have insisted that the council has put Badger gates over the holes which only open outwards!! Did that do the trick? Did it Hell!! The badgers just dug along side and into the sets.After trying this a number of times the council has now been forced to come up with an allowable solution which is to plate the road to prevent subsidence but allow the badgers to continue to expand the working which will mean further remedial work in the future. The cost of this to our hard pressed council will be astronomical and it is complete madness. The proposed work is now scheduled for the summer after the breeding season so we have to endure the inconvenience for another 5 months, though as soon as the council men come to erect the barriers they are cast aside and any dips in the road filled in by the local farmers with stone. We have to carry on with our businesses! Someone has to instill a can do attitude into the likes of Natural England so that they do not hide behind ridiculous regulations. There has to be some control of badgers in this sort of situation and it does not need to cost a fortune , otherwise people will take the situation into their own hands.

Badgers

at 10:33 on 17/02/2016 by Roger Ashby

The general consensus is that the increase in badger numbers is having a detrimental effect on a range vulnerable species, why cannot detailed research work be done on their diet and habits to prove it beyond doubt.

Badgers

at 9:47 on 17/02/2016 by Stewart Abbott

I've said it before and I'm sure I'll say it lots more, How on earth did prey animals (plus Blue Bells) survive the 100,000's of years before man felt the need to control things? There is a natural population level and if we left well alone then it will balance out. We just need courage do let things be. If some species disappear then they don't belong in that ecosystem and that's evolution at work. That is of course unless it's man causing the population crash, then we can step in.

Badgers

at 8:04 on 17/02/2016 by Charles Malone

Hedgehogs disappeared from our garden 20 years ago when the local badger population increased. We are not fussy about our lawn and can put up with it being regularly dug over by our striped visitors but two more bumble bee nests dug out last year convinced us to take action. We use 500 metres of electric fencing - time consuming but effective. Common sense says that there should be an open season to control badgers; dream on!

Badgers

at 12:49 on 16/02/2016 by Dick Bartlett

At last it seems people are prepared to speak out about the damage done by the huge badger population. Many will have been alerted by the BBC's Springwatch programme which showed how a badger swam to an island and then consumed about 20 nests of eggs of rare waders. Scientific evidence should be collected by responsible conservation bodies such as GWCT and a good start could be made by looking at the wildlife effects from DEFRA badger culls where such culls have been effective in reducing badger numbers. A survey by Bangor University estimates that already about 10% of farmers are culling badgers illegally. Many more would like to but dare not risk it. Badger ham is a highly prized delicacy for Germans and most people from Eastern Europe where it is made from the marinated haunches. They see no need to give this rapacious animal any legal protection. Why should we ??

Hedge hogs

at 11:40 on 16/02/2016 by Smith Brothers Farms

We are quite confident that the loss of hedgehogs on our 1000acres is due to the increase in Badger numbers . These badgers have decimated our ground nesting birds,our bumblebees ,and our bluebell woods . Badgers should be taken of the protected list.

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