Hedgehogs were introduced to North Uist and Benbecula in the 1970s to control garden slugs but the animals turned instead to feasting on the eggs of rare birds such as dunlin, lapwing and ringed plover.

Scottish Natural Heritage have been culling the animals but the British Hedgehog Preservation Society claims it is much cheaper to capture and relocate -GBP50 per animal- compared with equivalent culling cost of GBP950 per animal.

The 2007 cull is scheduled for April and May.

Visit Scotland's islands with catswhiskerstours.

Labels: Hebrides

posted by Nigel Cole @ 9:04 AM