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14 April 2003
New doubts raised on cull of hedgehogs
John Ross
Reproduced with Permission from
The Scotsman, 12th April 2003
(Filed 14 April 2003)
www.land-care.org.uk
© The Scotsman
www.scotsman.com
As the Hedgehog cull in the Western Isles continued
yesterday, the reason behind the action and its timing have been
called into question.
Ian Mitchell, who has written on the politics
of conservation, claims Scottish Natural Heritage has been aware
of the hedgehog problem for many years but “sprung into action”
only because of its close relationship with the Royal Society for
the Protection of Birds when the multiplying, egg-eating hedgehogs
were nearing a RSPB reserve.
In a letter to the Scotsman (1),
Mr Mitchell said he became aware of the problem in 1996 after interviewing
a bird researcher. “If SNH knew about the problem then, why
did it not act?” he asks. He suggests the reason was that,
at the time, the problem only affected crofters - but the hedgehogs
have since advanced to North Uist and are close to a RSPB bird reserve
at Balranald.
Yesterday, Mr Mitchell said: “As a long-time
watcher of both organisations, I know that if RSPB says jump then
SNH jumps. Why so suddenly? I don’t know, but there is an unhealthy
close relationship between the two (organisations). It’s quite
incestuous.
“It’s highly mysterious that they do
it (the cull) now as soon as the problem gets near Balranald. SNH
does not take the slightest interest in the problems of the natives
of the islands, but they take tremendous interest in the problems
of something like the RSPB.
“I do not think it’s right that the
regulatory body should be so closely involved with what could be
called one of its client organisations.”
There are estimated to be 5,000 hedgehogs in the
Western Isles, 200 of them in North Uist.
The cull was agreed last year because the population
of birds such as dunlin, redshank and lapwing dropped significantly.
Both SNH and the RSPB dismissed Mr Mitchell’s
claims.
A spokeswoman for SNH said: “The fact we
are beginning the cull now has nothing to do with the RSPB reserve
on Balranald. The hedgehog problem on the Uists has a long history
of research behind it, which has only now culminated in the last
resort - a cull”.
She said that hedgehogs were first recorded on
the islands in 1982, but it was not known what damage they were
causing until 1995, when an RSPB survey of waders found numbers
had dropped dramatically since a previous count in 1983.
“However, there was no evidence at that point
to prove it was hedgehogs which were doing the damage, so both SNH
and RSPB began to research the problem from 1995 onwards”.
She said work continued to find scientific proof
of what was eating the birds’ eggs, and only by 2000 was there
enough evidence to show categorically that hedgehogs were to blame.
The three-year Uist Wader Project was set up to look at ways of
tackling the problem.
The spokeswoman added: “The Uist Wader Project
aimed to find a non-lethal solution to the problem, through researching
the effectiveness of methods such as fencing, sterilisation and
translocation. In the end the project concluded that the only effective
way to tackle the problem was through a cull.”
She went on: “SNH does work closely with
RSPB, as it does with any other conservation body in Scotland but
this is important to help us work effectively together to protect
the natural heritage. We are well aware of Mr Mitchell’s conspiracy
theory about SNH and other conservation bodies, and have received
over 200 letters from him on this topic.”
Stuart Housden, director RSPB Scotland, said the
bird researcher mentioned by Mr Mitchell was an RSPB worker, Digger
Jackson. “In Mr Mitchell’s letter he is implying it is
our self-serving science but he does not acknowledge he knows about
this because he met our scientist.”
He said research in the 1990’s showed great
declines in wading bird numbers and further investigations high-lighted
the presence of hedgehogs. Studies over some years showed a correlation
between the non-native hedgehogs and the decline in waders.
“You have to do thorough research to persuade
people, including SNH and the Scottish Executive, to do something.”
John Ross
©The Scotsman
Reproduced by Land-Care with permission of The Scotsman
www.land-care.org.uk
Reference
1. Mitchell, Ian (2003). Hedgehog
Problem is not new. The Scotsman, 11 April 2003.
(Filed 11 April 2003, www.land-care.org.uk,
click
here to view).
Further Reading recommended by Land-Care
SNH told to think again. This time about hedgehogs.
(Filed 29 January 2003, www.land-care.org.uk,
click
here to view).
Editorial. Hedgehogs on Uist - SNH in More Trouble.
(Filed 27 January 2003, www.land-care.org.uk,
click
here to view).
Hope, Mark (2003). Hedgehogs Galore. Oban Times, 16 January 2003.
(Filed 20 January 2003, www.land-care.org.uk,
click
here to view).
Gamekeepers’ Association Official Joins Growing Row over Hedgehogs.
Oban Times, 9 January 2003.
(Filed 13 January 2003, www.land-care.org.uk,
click
here to view).
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