KEY POINTS:
A five-year battle between conservationists and animal welfare campaigners over the fate of hedgehogs in the Western Isles of Scotland is expected to come to an end this week.
Hundreds of thousands of pounds have been spent on a cull of the egg-eating animals, which have brought chaos to ground-nesting birds on the islands.
However, just weeks before a fresh round of killing was due to begin, new evidence has emerged that transporting the animals to the mainland rather than killing them may not be as harmful as first feared.
The Uist Wader programme was launched in 2002 to combat the threat posed to rare wading birds and their eggs on Uist in the Outer Hebrides.
Hedgehogs are not native to the islands. They were introduced in the 1970s by a gardener who wanted to control slugs but, without a natural predator, the population exploded to more than 5000, spreading throughout South Uist, Benbecula and North Uist.
The hedgehogs thrived to the extent that the islands' natural environmental balance was skewed, prompting the Scottish Natural Heritage to order a cull.
It was feared relocating the animals to the mainland would be too distressful so experts decided on a cull instead.
However their decision upset animal welfare campaigners around the world, including celebrities such as Joanna Lumley, Brian May, Twiggy, Sting, Sir Paul McCartney and Sir Tim Rice.
Uist Hedgehog Rescue, a coalition of animal welfare campaigners, was set up to snatch the hedgehogs and transport them to the mainland.
To the amusement of islanders, the opposing forces have set up camp each spring for the past four years racing to find as many hedgehogs as possible as they emerged from hibernation.
To date, it is calculated that of the 5000 or more hedgehogs, 658 have been killed and 756 rescued for a cost of £700,000 ($1.94 million).
Now it appears a truce is about to be reached after new research by the British Hedgehog Preservation Society has found that contrary to initial beliefs, the island hedgehogs can survive if moved to the mainland.
In addition another study published last year, conducted by Bristol University, showed that hedgehogs could be relocated successfully after rehabilitation and that their release, on to mainland Britain, had no adverse effect on local hedgehog populations.
As a result, the Scottish SPCA has withdrawn its support for the cull, prompting other organisations to consider calling a complete halt to it.
"We welcome the Scottish SPCA's change of policy which now opposes the killing of hedgehogs on the Uists and supports their relocation to the mainland. Its policy is now in line with ours and most other animal welfare organisations, including the RSPCA," said Ross Minett, director of Advocates for Animals.
"We are hopeful SNH's board will follow the recommendation of its scientific officers and agree to end the cull in favour of translocation to the mainland.
"We believe research and decades of practical experience have shown that translocation is the humane and ethical solution."
- INDEPENDENT
