BHPS A24 TRAP PETITION POSTERS & LEAFLETS
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Hi Penny
No, sadly I’m not a lawyer, but funny you should mention it, because I was thinking that is what we need.I wonder if you can get the Fay Vass interview on iplayer. Might have a look later.
The hogs can be rather brazen sometimes! I think something may be going on with the boss hog here too. The other night he let another male eat from the bowl right next to him. Not his normal behaviour. And I seem to be seeing the other chap more often ‘patrolling’ the area. Haven’t seen any biffing or fighting between them. Perhaps they have agreed to have a power share!?
No wooing going on here yet.
2 over-wintered hoglets hopefully coming home today.
Have just looked the trap up on Google. I found a few places selling them – only one of which even mentions the possibility of catching hedgehogs. Even then it doesn’t give any information about making tunnels, casing, etc. They all say things like
”have been designed to save you time and effort. Operating them is a breeze – you don’t even have to get your hands dirty.” That doesn’t suggest that you need to make added tunnels etc.Yes, I ‘googled’ the trap the other day and was shocked at how many outlets are now selling it. That piece about ‘not even having to get your hands dirty’ was sickening. I think you are right about lawyers Nic, this trap has the potential to wipe out many protected species, so where are they?
And yes the piece about hedgehogs is on the Iplayer, that’s where I watched it.
Have just sent my second letter to DEFRA. I wonder whether Dr. Coffey will take the trouble to answer it herself this time.
The only site selling the A24 trap which actually mentioned hedgehogs – but only if you scrolled right down – said
‘If there is any chance that there is hedgehog activity in the area you are trying to target; it is the responsibility of the trapper to stop hedgehog interaction with the trap’Bearing in mind that a substantial portion of the population don’t even realise they have hedgehogs visiting their gardens and that hedgehogs can travel quite large distances, and their habitats are wide and varied, this instruction is not worth much.
On a lighter note, I now have two huge hoglets home from overwintering, ready for release this evening. At least one is a beautiful looking female. One of the old girls disappeared last year, so it’s good to know there is a new one.
My letter to Dr Coffey went yesterday and I’ve just sent one off to the RSPCA today, including a line about your revelation concerning DEFRA’s own damming evidence for not using the A24 trap. I’m no lawyer either, but I would like to see that one stand up in a court of law!
I have lived at the same address for over 20 years and only realised that we had hedgehogs living in the garden 2 years ago! How on earth can they police its use and ensure that no protected species are being exterminated; it’s virtually impossible.
I would like to think that our prickly friends appreciate all this hard work that we are putting in on their behalf; I’ve barely got any work done for the last 2 weeks.
Good luck with your hoglets, have they got names, or are they still numbers?
Seems a bit strange thinking of them as hoglets now, as they are so enormous! One of them went there at 221g. The one who is definitely a female I think I will call Erin so maybe the other one should aceus. No just joking, but it might end up sticking! Mostly, I’ve never been sure in the past when they are named whether they are males or females so they have mostly got names that will do for either, often slightly descriptive. Always a bit of a worry releasing them. Will they come back or won’t they.
Good luck with your letters. If we all keep writing to everyone concerned perhaps, eventually, someone will take some notice. Here’s hoping.
Hi Nic,
I have just received a very disappointing reply to the letter I sent to our MP, it sounds very similar to the reply you received; basically DEFRA’s response to the petition and the insistence that it can only be used to kill rats & stoats and that an artificial tunnel is the answer! Did he not even read my letter…the bit where I stated that hedgehogs like investigating tunnels and will cram themselves into the smallest of spaces…ARGHHHH!!!
I hope that you have more luck with your second letter and that they actually bother to read it.
Since discovering hogs in our garden and them getting used to a regular supply of grub, holidays have become a real issue. In an attempt to solve this conundrum I ordered an automatic pet feeder which has just arrived along with the offending letter. It has 6 compartments which will open automatically at a specified time and will even play a personalised message, just in case they miss me…ha, ha, ha! There’s just one problem, it won’t fit into the feeding station, so it looks another trip to a well known diy store for some more bricks; yes these pampered hogs are now going to get themselves one heck of an extension.
Hi Penny
From what I can make out the first letter is always the standard blurb. Likewise from the MPs. I have sent my 2nd letter to DEFRA and 3rd to my MP. He did actually say that as I felt so strongly about it he would refer it to the DEFRA ministers. But he also said that the traps are not widely available that the they were mostly used by farmers and game keepers who had the expertise to set them up properly, etc. That sort of thing, which I felt needed correcting. Still awaiting replies from both of these. I also found a tweet on Goodnature uk site with a photo of a trap set up with no tunnels or casing – easily accessible for a hedgehog by the look of things.
Good news that the Petition signatures shot up by over 1,000 on Monday. Something to do with details being retweeted by Brian May, I think. We still need to keep up the pressure. There is a long way to go.
You have some very lucky hogs there. Would be interested to hear how it works.
Dear old Digger returned last night. She is the oldest of my female visitors. The boys needless to say were very excited and there were hogs running round everywhere. She was ‘not amused’. Always think she is a bit like Q. Victoria!
Hi Nic
I shall be writing another letter to our MP, I just need to calm down a bit first.
Good old Brian, I wondered why the numbers suddenly rocketed at the weekend, we just need someone to spread the word on national TV and we would be there in no time.This new holiday feeding contraption is proving to be a bit of a problem, although it’s only about 3 ½ “inches tall, the hogs will no doubt climb all over it to try and access the extra rations, which means as well as substantial front and side extensions, the feeding station would also need a new roof. We may as well just start from scratch and build another one around the corner.
Glad to hear that Digger’s back, I haven’t been able to positively identify Hope yet, so there’s still a possibility that she will turn up. Tippy Toe is still around; she’s still quite small with very long legs. She was sneezing before she went off to hibernate and she’s still sneezing now; she looks healthy enough and she survived hibernation so I am assuming that she is ok.
The males seem to outnumber the females about 3 to 1 at the moment and a female I’ve called Daisy is being pursued relentlessly. There were two fights over her last night caught on camera, with one lasting for an hour and fifteen minutes. Simba was in the thick of it as usual, but most of the other males are much larger and won’t back down, his nose is certainly taking a beating.
Hi Penny
Sounds like your new feeder could provide endless entertainment!
I was seriously worried last night. It got to 10.25 before the first hog turned up. It is usually nearer to 9.00. I was beginning to fear that they had all got caught in one of those ghastly traps. It could happen. Virtually the whole local population could be wiped out in a night.
Digger didn’t turn up. She did still seem pretty dozy the night before, so maybe was having a nap. One of the other girls eventually arrived and caused havoc amongst the boys. The boys here, also outnumber the girls hugely. They always do, a bit. I think the males have larger ‘ranges’ than the girls, so probably overlap. Boss hog was not involved in all the carry on, but Tigger was!
That sounds like a seriously long fight. Poor Simba!
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