A Costly Cull

‘ONE thing is for sure, you could kill a lot of hedgehogs on Jean-Pierre Garnier’s salary – although not as many as you might think.

WANTED: Dead Or Alive (Reward £1,800)

The Telegraph reveals today that the cost of the hedgehog cull in the Outer Hebrides will work out at £1,800 per animal – more than seven times the estimated bill for relocating them.

The cull was ordered by the Scottish National Heritage to protect rare bird populations on the islands.

So far only 50 hedgehogs have been sent to the big dual-carriageway in the sky, more than a third of which were handed in by islanders.

Just over 130 more have been rescued by animal lovers for transporting to the mainland.

George Anderson, of the SNH, tells the Telegraph: ”This exercise is labour intensive and there are not as many hedgehogs as we first thought in the area where we are looking.”

One suggestion currently being considered is to look in a different area – but that is thought to be a little radical at this stage.

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Posted: 20th, May 2003 | In: Broadsheets Comment | TrackBack | Permalink