A HEDGEHOG expert from York has warned that the prickly but loveable creature could disappear from Britain within 15 years.
Dr Toni Bunnell, a retired zoology lecturer who runs a hedgehog sanctuary in Holgate, claims there has been a 25 per cent decline in numbers over the past decade.
And she said the decrease could be as high as 50 per cent in some parts of the country, leaving about one million hedgehogs.
She said a number of reasons for the decline in the population included pesticides, which had eliminated much of the animals’ food, such as caterpillars and beetles.
She said they had also lost some habitat in the countryside, which they were having to share with predatory badgers, but in residential areas, they faced different problems including rat poison, strimming and mowing.
Some were also being caught in netting, causing horrific injuries, and an increase in fencing between gardens prevented them going from one garden to another for food, and others were drowning in garden ponds.
Hedgehogs were also being run over by motorists at the rate of about 50,000 a year.
She said people could act to save hedgehogs by providing food and water, using wildlife-friendly slug pellets and removing trailing netting.
The hedgehog has joined other creatures including the black-tailed godwit, cuckoo, red squirrel and natterjack toad on a list compiled on behalf of Eden, a digital natural history channel.
It said there has been a 90 per cent fall in the number of turtle doves, a migratory bird, in Britain since 1971, while the black-tailed godwit population has fallen by 33 per cent in the last 15 years.
Dr Bunnell has warned previously of the dangers posed by rat traps after hedgehogs were seriously injured by them in York, with one having to be put down after its crushed leg became badly infected.
A prickly problem
THEY bring joy to gardens across the country when they come out at night.
But hedgehogs are increasingly endangered, according to Toni Bunnell, who runs a sanctu-ary for them in York.
Dr Bunnell says hedgehog numbers have de-clined by a quarter in the last ten years.
There are many reasons, including increased use of pesticides and the reduction of wild habitats. But there is something we can do.
Providing food and water in our gardens, using wildlife-friendly slug pellets and removing trailing netting will all help, Dr Bunnell says.
Gardeners, please take note.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel