Hedgehogs, please help

[biggs682]

the more i think about this post , the more comments i have .

we use to regular arise in the morning and notice we had a trail of hog poo wither on our drive , on our patio or rear lawn almost every morning , we never met the culprit . but sadly this year we have not had so many parcels left for us .

but the sad side is that on my daily commute within the first half mile i went through a phase where i was seeing at least 1 freshly squashed hog a week

 

[nappadang]

the more i think about this post , the more comments i have .

we use to regular arise in the morning and notice we had a trail of hog poo wither on our drive , on our patio or rear lawn almost every morning , we never met the culprit . but sadly this year we have not had so many parcels left for us .

but the sad side is that on my daily commute within the first half mile i went through a phase where i was seeing at least 1 freshly squashed hog a week

PPNE do all sorts of awareness events and tales similar to yours are becoming increasingly more common. This is why hogs need help.

 

[nappadang]

Badgers are killing hedgehogs, and the cull will benefit both.

Not seen evidence to support or debunk your claim. I'm not doubting what you say but I disagree with the proposed cull purely because I'm a conservationist and have never been able to find overwhelming evidence to support the pro cull point of view.

 

[Maz]

I was in the garden once around dusk, bringing in the washing off the line. I heard a grunting noise and these 2 hedgehogs had just entered the garden under the fence panel. They waddled off to the opposite side to where they entered and disappeared into the bushes.
I had seen the gap under the fence before, but had no idea it was being used by hedgehogs.

 

[Col5632]

This little beauty came to us at 58 grams.He's more than 58 grams in this photo but not a great deal. No one thought he'd live but through the efforts of Prickly Pals North East (PPNE), he was released into the wild very recently. I'd love to take credit for this but being totally honest, it was my wife and the the founder of PPNE who did all the hard work.

Far too cute

 

[machew]

Not seen evidence to support or debunk your claim. I'm not doubting what you say but I disagree with the proposed cull purely because I'm a conservationist and have never been able to find overwhelming evidence to support the pro cull point of view.

Badger prey on hedgehogs, and since there numbers have increased by about 70% since 1981, if we want to increase the number of hedgehogs then we need to reduce the number of the animals that prey on them

 

[asterix]

Have a few in my French 'garden'. Their house of choice at the moment is a pile of logs.

Initially the intention was to tame the garden, have smooth lawns, tidy hedges and no weeds or undergrowth. Fortunately Mrs A. has now realised the endlessness of such a goal and we now only keep little bit (relatively) 'tidy' with the rest managed - I hate brambles.

There has been a surge in the quantity and variety of wildlife with many species I haven't seen in the UK for years if not decades. For example we have woodpeckers, red squirrels, hedgehogs, field mice and voles by the bucket load, lizards(incl. slow worms), snakes, newts, frogs, toads, two colonies of wood ants, stag beetles, crickets and grasshoppers, many types of very colourful butterflies and less colourful moths, a hornets nest (no bother) and much else, usually living under rocks.

Oh, and bats, nearly forgot the bats..

 

[asterix]

Badger prey on hedgehogs, and since there numbers have increased by about 70% since 1981, if we want to increase the number of hedgehogs then we need to reduce the number of the animals that prey on them

Man has an unfortunate history of causing disaster by upsetting the balance of nature!

And I'd suggest that the principal cause of any species decline is often our own activities.

What puzzles me about the logic of badger culling WRT bovine TB is that badgers are members of the weasel family. If badgers carry it then why not stoats and weasels? Will they be next for the chop, resulting in an explosion in the rabbit population and consequent infestation by foxes? Will we have to introduce myxamatosis again?

Was going insert a picture of a myxied rabbit but it really isn't nice, not at all nice..

 

[nappadang]

Badger prey on hedgehogs, and since there numbers have increased by about 70% since 1981, if we want to increase the number of hedgehogs then we need to reduce the number of the animals that prey on them

As do raptors and owls, should we cull them too? Or maby cull the motor industy and all intensive farmers? This thread was set up to give basic info on how individualds can help hedgehogs on a small scale, in their own back garden.
If you feel so strongly about culling badgers please start up a thead and I promise I'll contribute. This thread was not intended to be a debate on the rights and wrongs of "pest" control and I'd prefer it if you didn't detract form what is important here.

Thanks,

Mick