Hedgehog-trapping project scrapped
STV
One million pound plans to extend a hedgehog control programme in the Western Isles have been thrown out, it was revealed on Tuesday.
The Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) has rejected recommendations to continue the scheme in North and South Uist for a further three years.
The hedgehogs, which aren’t native to the islands, have been blamed for eating the eggs of rare wading birds - causing numbers to decline by as much as 50% since the 1980s.
The animals were originally culled before a relocation programme was introduced three years ago to trap them and move them to the mainland instead.
So far nearly 1,500 animals have been trapped and re-homed.
However at a meeting in Edinburgh on Tuesday morning SNH rejected the proposals, instead agreeing to extend the current programme for another year at a cost of £3,500.
The body said it will reconsider the proposal once more research has been carried out.
Trapping will now take place throughout the year instead of just spring and summer.
And for the first time dogs will be used to track the animals - an issue already raising concern with some animal welfare groups.
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Revealed: £1m bill for an hedgehog-trapping project
The Scotsman
23.02.10
SCOTLAND'S natural heritage body should spend £1 million of public money funding another three years of an island hedgehog-trapping project, a report has recommended.
A scheme aiming to remove hedgehogs from the Uists in the Outer Hebrides has already been running for seven years, at a cost of £1.2 million.
Now Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) has been advised to spend another £1.03 million on a further three years of even more intensive trapping work to catch more hedgehogs and rehome them on the mainland. So far 1,450 of the prickly animals have been trapped and rehomed, working out at more than £800 per hedgehog.
The spiny mammals are blamed for eating the eggs of vulnerable wading birds on the islands, causing numbers to decline, in some cases by as much as 50 per cent since the 1980s. The Uists have some of the most important populations of dunlin, ringed plover, redshank, snipe, lapwing and oystercatcher in Europe.
A report to be considered at a SNH board meeting today suggests stepping up efforts to trap the hedgehogs further over the next three years.
Trapping should take place all year round, instead of just during spring and summer, and for the first time dogs should be used to track the animals and speed up the work. This has raised concern from some animal welfare groups.
The Scotsman understands the recommendations in the report, written by SNH staff, are likely to lead to heated debate at today's board meeting, particularly due to the amount of money needed to fund the project.
The report highlights that it is a time of "challenging public sector funding outlook" and adds that the "principal risk" of the proposal is "the availability of funding and the risk to SNH's reputation if we are seen to be ineffective".
Despite the huge efforts from the Uist Wader Project team, which have so far focused on North Uist and Benbecula, the report also highlights that as yet there is no "statistically robust evidence" that it "has as yet resulted in a positive response in wader populations".
It goes on to say that there may be "other variables" having an impact on wader numbers such as changes in land use.
However, David MacLennan, area manager for the Western Isles at SNH, told The Scotsman he was "convinced" hedgehogs did have an impact on wader populations.
And he said the lack of evidence for improvements in wader numbers was due to a lack of survey work carried out to assess the impacts, because so far the focus had been on trapping the hedgehogs.
He added that he thought the £1 million cost of another three years was justified.
Hedgehogs are not native to the Uists. After a few were let loose in a garden in 1974 to help control slugs and snails they spread across the islands.