CHALLENGE TO ALL HEDGEHOG CHAMPIONS

[Nic]

This is a challenge to all fellow hedgehog champions:

To get AT LEAST 5 other people to sign the Petition against the A24 Trap which kills hedgehogs, in the next two weeks.
https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/206274

You will have seen all the information on the Forum about this Petition. Now we all need to work together for the hedgehogs to get the 100,000 needed to have this matter debated in parliament.

TIME IS RUNNING OUT.

So come on hedgehog lovers. The Hedgehogs need us to do this for them.

The best way to encourage people to sign is to talk to them. Make sure you know all the facts and can answer people’s questions. Then talk to anyone you can about the petition. Talk to your friends, people you meet, people in shops you visit, people in any groups you belong to, on the bus, on the park bench, etc. Have a collection of the black and white leaflets (available from the BHPS site) to hand out to them. Write the petition link onto them to make it easy for people to sign.

E-mail everyone on your email list explaining how important it is for them to sign the petition and include the link to the Petition. Put the information on social media.

Put posters up everywhere you can think of. For instance, Pet shops, local shops, bus shelters, notice boards, Hospital or large organisation staff rooms, etc. You can download posters from the BHPS.

If you have any other ideas let us know and let us know how you get on.

IF WE ALL WORK TOGETHER WE CAN DO THIS.

PLEASE JOIN IN, FOR THE SAKE OF THE NATION’S HOGS.

[Nic]

Hi everyone

Has anyone taken up the challenge? If so, let us know how you are getting on.

[Suzynic]

Hi Nic
I have unashamedly posted this on my facebook page several times, I know for sure two people have signed plus my partner! I will send him the link though so he can forward it on to his work colleagues as he works for the wildlife trust so more likely that more will sign.
I will also send an email to friends now as I haven’t done that.
Suzanne

[Nic]

That’s brilliant, Suzanne, just what’s needed. Just hope everyone else does the same!

[Suzynic]

I posted the details on my local town facebook page, but sadly not had much response. Two people liked the post but whether or not anyone has actually signed the petition is a different matter.

Emailed all on my personal email contact list, and also my allotment contacts where I am secretary, and so far 5 people have emailed me to say they have signed. A couple have also said they will also share so that’s good.

Have also emailed the directors of a nearby housing development which is just going up, asking if they would be interested in making the gardens more wildlife friendly by putting in some holes in the fences and other improvements, using the information I found on the BHPS website. I got quite a quick response back but they immediately thought I was emailing on behalf of a company…I have responded back and am just awaiting a reply.

My ‘hedgehog’ friend neighbour has suggested I also contact the council.

Determined to do a bit more this year! I babbled away about hedgehogs to my partner yesterday (I may have babbled about them every day for the last week to be honest!) and he was quite impressed by my hedgie knowledge so perhaps I know more than I thought!

[Nic]

Hi Suzanne

Sounds as if you have been doing really well. If everyone did the same, the target for the petition would be reached in no time!

If you are contacting builders/councils, you may be interested in https://twitter.com/abigazzard/status/974227855906430977
A good example for all councils to follow.

Good to hear that your partner was impressed with your knowledge of hog related things. It’s amazing how quickly things can be picked up. You’ll be doing talks before you know it!

[Suzynic]

Hi Nic

Thanks for the twitter link I will have a read through.

That eventually is my aim, I need to read more, and ideally I would like to do a hedgehog carers course. Unfortunately the ones being run are quite far away from me.

[Jan-Marie]

I have contacted my planning department council on this some time ago and they said it wasn’t their decision to make, and was up to developers to take on.
I approached my local MP – who was less than useful in saying he could do no more on it (than the nothing that he had done already was what I concluded)
Yesterday I sat and wrote an e-mail to Chris Grayling parliamentary MP and ‘Hedgehog Species Champion’ to urge him to get something into Development Policies for new builds and road systems etc that mandated the need to build hedgehog / wildlife friendly homes and highways if they were to continue on this drive to ‘pave paradise’.
Builders and developers – and most councils – wont do anything unless its forced on them.
Can we build a campaign to get Chris Grayling moving on this?

[Nic]

Sounds great, Suzanne. It seems to me that there is a great need for more hedgehog carers. Hope you manage to find a course you can get to.

Have you read http://www.wildlifeonline.me.uk/hedgehogs.html
There is lots of interesting information on there (some of it quite academic) and worth exploring other parts of the site as well.

[Penny]

Hi Jan-Marie,

Sounds like a great idea, the rate at which new developments are springing up around here is ridiculous, the wildlife will soon have nowhere left to go. ;-(

[Suzynic]

Thanks for the link Nic.

I have since discovered that Vale rescue centre run a course and they are about 100 miles away, still a trek but easily done!

Hi Jan=Marie, thanks for the advice, yes I agree something needs to be done. Penny, there are housing developments all round me too, what I can’t understand is that they are not what we keep being told we need which is affordable housing, they are all luxury four-five bedroomed houses!

[Jan-Marie]

Hi Suzynic,

Don’t get me started on what they are building currently – another argument I’ve been having with the council and developers, who have been busy winkling in thousands of new ‘expensive’ homes in our area for the last 5 years, but with little consideration for the infrastructure which completely broke down with the burden about 2 years ago. Apparently the plans for ‘affordable housing’ is now being rolled out on top of that, with thousands more going up over the next 10 years.
I think if we don’t lobby for something now our poor remaining hogs (and other struggling wildlife) will simply not survive it.

[Nic]

Hi Suzanne

Good to hear you may be able to get to Vale to do a course. I have just come across another link you may be interested in.
Hedgehog Population Health. Zoological Society of London
https://www.zsl.org/blogs/science/hedgehog-population-health-%E2%80%93-what-do-we-know

[Author]

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