If only we as humans didn’t meddle in the first place!
For New Zealand I can’t think of any alternative apart from offering sanctuaries or making certain areas more attractive for the ground nesting birds - ditches/fencing to keep out all predators. Wildlife cameras to observe. Do hedgehogs avoid areas where badgers are? Use badger scent to repel them?
Why has no one found a successful way of sterilising the hedgehogs yet? Surely there must be a way somehow? This would be a brilliant way of hopefully lowering the population, owing to how the vacuum effect works: https://www.alleycat.org/resources/the-truth-about-the-vacuum-effect/
You could introduce a natural predator of hedgehogs but then they could eat other animals instead and cause other problems, (the rosy wolf snail with Partula snails), relocating them to somewhere like the UK would sadly be a slow death sentence as we are sadly failing to save and help the hedgehogs we already have here, you could try and gather them all up and put them in a zoo or sanctuary but you would have to find an appropriate area and if you miss just 1 or 2 hedgehogs, it will accomplish nothing as those remaining hedgehogs will just breed more. Killing however, can never be an answer as the remaining hedgehogs will just keep breeding and moving in to replace those killed. It is just cruel to keep killing them when it accomplishes nothing and leads to a never-ending cycle of killing.
sterilisation is the dream of these things - but the how is the problem - as yet nothing available ... the NZ conservationists are interested in gene-drives that can force a deleterious genetic trait through a population ... but the unintended consequences (should it ever work) could be disastrous. So it boils down to a question of whether we should be trying to save other species from extinction ...
True and I think we should try and save other species from extinction but without killing. Hugh, just an idea, but what about spaying/neutering sterilisation of hedgehogs? I found this link here: https://www.theexoticvet.com/services/spay-neuter that states: "in general, we strongly recommend that rabbits, hedgehogs, potbellied pigs, and guinea pigs undergo ovariectomy or ovariohysterectomies". Admittedly, this seems to be regarding pet hedgehogs, but if it works for pet hedgehogs, surely there must be something similar that could be done with wild ones too, like the same spaying/neutering procedure being used for both domestic cats and feral/stray cats?
Relocation to breeding programs to help rejuvenate the UK population is a fanciful idea but not the most practical and seems prohibitively expensive. I agree with culling of invasive species on a couple conditions - there's not really any practical alternatives, it's done humanely (eg, instant kill traps) and the endangerment to the native wildlife is too great for inaction. Is there anything that could be done conservation wise on the birds side? Providing hedgehog-proof nesting boxes perhaps? Or is there a way to deter the hedgehogs from eating the eggs, maybe they need an alternate source of calcium and other nutrients they're getting from the eggs? I know hedgehogs are known to be opportunistic scavengers but eggs aren't a usual staple for them, maybe they're getting something the local area lacks from eating them or there's a problem with pesticide or bug population. Maybe barriers or a natural chemical deterrent (smells/tastes hedgehogs don't like but the birds don't mind) to get them to avoid the birds territory? Some random brainstorming from different angles, doubt any of it will be helpful, but hey.
eggs are a very interesting problem ... they are not eaten all the time - because egg laying tends to be seasonal - so % of diet over a year might be small but the impact quite bit! And they do, as you observe, eat opportunistically - so what they bump into ...
They brought mongoose to Jamaica to manage the snake problem. So introducing a hedge hog predator could be a solution. As the the hedge hog is being a predator too... so nature could just balance itself in this way!?
Hedgehogs have a hard enough time in the uK - in spite of an amazing network of hedgehog rescues, they end up getting sliced up by hedge strimners, run over, and bitten by other creatures. We won’t stop them being culled in New Zealand - for Pete’s sake Australia engineered myxo. For rabbits to control their populations. With our luck the hedgehogs in New Zealand will be infected with some bizzarre disease which will be introduced to the UK. Let’s concentrate on the ones who are still in their native Blighty!
TOO MANY HUMANS AND THEY ARE FORCEING WILDLIFE OUT OF THEIR HABITATS AND DENYING THEM FOOD SOURCES, BY BUILDING EVERYWHERE WITHOUT THOUGHT FOR THE FUTURE
In New Zealand, the creation of sanctuaries where they do cull all hedgehogs seems a good compromise. In UK, the isle of Wight is a sanctuary for red squirrels away from any grey squirrels. I believe there have also been projects in some other areas, using selective feeding of contraceptive drugs to grey squirrels.
Re hedgehog protection in the UK, I would favour some humane culling of badgers, to restore the balance between these two species, but I know this is not popular.
I am going to write about grey squirrels soon - as there is really bad news from Anglesey - where they were absent for years, but have returned and started breeding again - risking the undoing of years of work to get the reds back there ...
I really don't like the idea of killing one species over another. This sounds like a man made problem therefore it's up to us to fix it! Can we safely relocate them? Can we put the females on a contraceptive pill? Is that possible?
contraception is the solution - but finding the money to develop one - and then actually get it into the hogs is the problem ... the geneticists are also investigating the possibility of using gene-drives...
As long as we can restore enough habitats for hedgehogs across their native range, I see no issue with reintroducing hedgehogs from New Zealand to those areas at the right moments, as long as they're all screened and vaccinated and they're well taken care of during their time in captivity.
But it could be in a controlled way, as a new species could be easier to manage in terms of maybe introducing males that have been sterilised, which then control the population of the new predator. Once the hedge hog issues lessen, the new predator can be removed. They can be tagged so that they are controlled. There will always be some downfalls to any plan. So its about what is best to control, and less morally damaging.
hedgehogs have spread across the entire country - they have been there since 1860s ... and really there is nothing that could kill a hedgehog that would not cause absolute havoc with other wildlife too ...
True and if you can be sure that they will eat only hedgehogs then that could work. However, you would have to be absolutely certain that the predator you introduce only goes for hedgehogs and no other animals as that is what happened with the rosy wolf snails and the Partula snails. The rosy wolf snails (predators) were brought in to hopefully manage the African land snail (herbivores/detrituvores) but sadly, when the rosy wolf snails got there, they left the african land snails completely alone and ate almost all the Partula snails (another herbivore/detrituvores species of snail) instead.
The difference here is the type of predator. A predator that can be tagged and located if the situation got out if control. Tagging and sterilising snails, I am assuming would not be so easy to do! Where as larger predators can be sterilised to control population and tagged to be located and captured.
I believe the best solution would be to consult with the Kogi Mamas, regards how to solve human created problems. If you aren't aware of them or how best to make contact start here www.taironatrust.org . The French group www.tchendukua.org are another contact.
In all seriousness, the justification of killing to help nature, is in itself unnatural!
It's based on the preconceived idea that humans know best, which of course, in the majority of cases they don't, OR RATHER, the people who do know better never get into positions of power.
Those who often get into those lofty positions are the ones who love hunting in all its deplorable forms.
The danger is that in amongst all the bad people who make decisions, there will be some who firmly believe that in order to protect nature, the one creature needing to be culled in large numbers is the human!
wild hedgehogs should never be looked at as pets ... they are wild animals and should be free to roam! Creating a market for pet hogs would be a disaster! There are people who keep African hedgehogs as pets (mostly in the USA) .... very different species.
If only we as humans didn’t meddle in the first place!
For New Zealand I can’t think of any alternative apart from offering sanctuaries or making certain areas more attractive for the ground nesting birds - ditches/fencing to keep out all predators. Wildlife cameras to observe. Do hedgehogs avoid areas where badgers are? Use badger scent to repel them?
they have been using scent lures, but it has not been very successful so far.
A very difficult dilemma.
Why has no one found a successful way of sterilising the hedgehogs yet? Surely there must be a way somehow? This would be a brilliant way of hopefully lowering the population, owing to how the vacuum effect works: https://www.alleycat.org/resources/the-truth-about-the-vacuum-effect/
Or how about finding a way of protecting birds nests better from hedgehogs? Maybe creating an area, if there is space, to create bird friendly areas that hedgehogs can't access so easily such as what they did for birds from feral cats in Hawaii here: https://ladyfreethinker.org/hawaiis-humane-solution-to-keep-both-endangered-hawaiian-birds-and-feral-cats-safe/
You could introduce a natural predator of hedgehogs but then they could eat other animals instead and cause other problems, (the rosy wolf snail with Partula snails), relocating them to somewhere like the UK would sadly be a slow death sentence as we are sadly failing to save and help the hedgehogs we already have here, you could try and gather them all up and put them in a zoo or sanctuary but you would have to find an appropriate area and if you miss just 1 or 2 hedgehogs, it will accomplish nothing as those remaining hedgehogs will just breed more. Killing however, can never be an answer as the remaining hedgehogs will just keep breeding and moving in to replace those killed. It is just cruel to keep killing them when it accomplishes nothing and leads to a never-ending cycle of killing.
sterilisation is the dream of these things - but the how is the problem - as yet nothing available ... the NZ conservationists are interested in gene-drives that can force a deleterious genetic trait through a population ... but the unintended consequences (should it ever work) could be disastrous. So it boils down to a question of whether we should be trying to save other species from extinction ...
True and I think we should try and save other species from extinction but without killing. Hugh, just an idea, but what about spaying/neutering sterilisation of hedgehogs? I found this link here: https://www.theexoticvet.com/services/spay-neuter that states: "in general, we strongly recommend that rabbits, hedgehogs, potbellied pigs, and guinea pigs undergo ovariectomy or ovariohysterectomies". Admittedly, this seems to be regarding pet hedgehogs, but if it works for pet hedgehogs, surely there must be something similar that could be done with wild ones too, like the same spaying/neutering procedure being used for both domestic cats and feral/stray cats?
Relocation to breeding programs to help rejuvenate the UK population is a fanciful idea but not the most practical and seems prohibitively expensive. I agree with culling of invasive species on a couple conditions - there's not really any practical alternatives, it's done humanely (eg, instant kill traps) and the endangerment to the native wildlife is too great for inaction. Is there anything that could be done conservation wise on the birds side? Providing hedgehog-proof nesting boxes perhaps? Or is there a way to deter the hedgehogs from eating the eggs, maybe they need an alternate source of calcium and other nutrients they're getting from the eggs? I know hedgehogs are known to be opportunistic scavengers but eggs aren't a usual staple for them, maybe they're getting something the local area lacks from eating them or there's a problem with pesticide or bug population. Maybe barriers or a natural chemical deterrent (smells/tastes hedgehogs don't like but the birds don't mind) to get them to avoid the birds territory? Some random brainstorming from different angles, doubt any of it will be helpful, but hey.
eggs are a very interesting problem ... they are not eaten all the time - because egg laying tends to be seasonal - so % of diet over a year might be small but the impact quite bit! And they do, as you observe, eat opportunistically - so what they bump into ...
They brought mongoose to Jamaica to manage the snake problem. So introducing a hedge hog predator could be a solution. As the the hedge hog is being a predator too... so nature could just balance itself in this way!?
the trouble is anything that could eat the hedgehog would also eat the native wildlife ...
Hedgehogs have a hard enough time in the uK - in spite of an amazing network of hedgehog rescues, they end up getting sliced up by hedge strimners, run over, and bitten by other creatures. We won’t stop them being culled in New Zealand - for Pete’s sake Australia engineered myxo. For rabbits to control their populations. With our luck the hedgehogs in New Zealand will be infected with some bizzarre disease which will be introduced to the UK. Let’s concentrate on the ones who are still in their native Blighty!
TOO MANY HUMANS AND THEY ARE FORCEING WILDLIFE OUT OF THEIR HABITATS AND DENYING THEM FOOD SOURCES, BY BUILDING EVERYWHERE WITHOUT THOUGHT FOR THE FUTURE
Completely agree with you David!
In New Zealand, the creation of sanctuaries where they do cull all hedgehogs seems a good compromise. In UK, the isle of Wight is a sanctuary for red squirrels away from any grey squirrels. I believe there have also been projects in some other areas, using selective feeding of contraceptive drugs to grey squirrels.
Re hedgehog protection in the UK, I would favour some humane culling of badgers, to restore the balance between these two species, but I know this is not popular.
I am going to write about grey squirrels soon - as there is really bad news from Anglesey - where they were absent for years, but have returned and started breeding again - risking the undoing of years of work to get the reds back there ...
😢
I really don't like the idea of killing one species over another. This sounds like a man made problem therefore it's up to us to fix it! Can we safely relocate them? Can we put the females on a contraceptive pill? Is that possible?
contraception is the solution - but finding the money to develop one - and then actually get it into the hogs is the problem ... the geneticists are also investigating the possibility of using gene-drives...
As long as we can restore enough habitats for hedgehogs across their native range, I see no issue with reintroducing hedgehogs from New Zealand to those areas at the right moments, as long as they're all screened and vaccinated and they're well taken care of during their time in captivity.
I would say, what with cars and badgers the hedgehog doesn't really need another predator.
its the humans to blame ,leave nature be.
But it could be in a controlled way, as a new species could be easier to manage in terms of maybe introducing males that have been sterilised, which then control the population of the new predator. Once the hedge hog issues lessen, the new predator can be removed. They can be tagged so that they are controlled. There will always be some downfalls to any plan. So its about what is best to control, and less morally damaging.
hedgehogs have spread across the entire country - they have been there since 1860s ... and really there is nothing that could kill a hedgehog that would not cause absolute havoc with other wildlife too ...
True and if you can be sure that they will eat only hedgehogs then that could work. However, you would have to be absolutely certain that the predator you introduce only goes for hedgehogs and no other animals as that is what happened with the rosy wolf snails and the Partula snails. The rosy wolf snails (predators) were brought in to hopefully manage the African land snail (herbivores/detrituvores) but sadly, when the rosy wolf snails got there, they left the african land snails completely alone and ate almost all the Partula snails (another herbivore/detrituvores species of snail) instead.
The difference here is the type of predator. A predator that can be tagged and located if the situation got out if control. Tagging and sterilising snails, I am assuming would not be so easy to do! Where as larger predators can be sterilised to control population and tagged to be located and captured.
True. Good point!
I believe the best solution would be to consult with the Kogi Mamas, regards how to solve human created problems. If you aren't aware of them or how best to make contact start here www.taironatrust.org . The French group www.tchendukua.org are another contact.
In all seriousness, the justification of killing to help nature, is in itself unnatural!
It's based on the preconceived idea that humans know best, which of course, in the majority of cases they don't, OR RATHER, the people who do know better never get into positions of power.
Those who often get into those lofty positions are the ones who love hunting in all its deplorable forms.
The danger is that in amongst all the bad people who make decisions, there will be some who firmly believe that in order to protect nature, the one creature needing to be culled in large numbers is the human!
wild hedgehogs should never be looked at as pets ... they are wild animals and should be free to roam! Creating a market for pet hogs would be a disaster! There are people who keep African hedgehogs as pets (mostly in the USA) .... very different species.