hedgehog road casualties

[Baldwin hedgehog]

6th dead hedgehog in two weeks found tonight on the same stretch of road. It is a 30 mph limit but the sleepy people of Suffolk must drive with their eyes closed. It is so depressing that we push out nature and give it no safe place to thrive.

[Dee]

So sad to hear……6 dead in two weeks…..the same stretch of road. Must be very distressing to see. You must wish you could dig the hogs a tunnel under the road.
I see folk driving without due care and attention to anything but themselves in Nottinghamshire too !!
Take care.

[Nic]

Hi Baldwin hedgehog

Really sorry to hear about all the dead hedgehogs. So sad. A friend of mine has found 8 dead hogs on about a half mile stretch of road this year, but not all in 2 weeks. When the clocks change is always a dangerous time for hogs on the roads, combined with hoglets being around.

That stretch of road sounds like a prime candidate for a watch out for hedgehogs sign. I am not in the same area, but I was told by the ‘county’ Council they can make a sign for just about anything, but you would need the agreement of the Parish Council and they would have to pay for it. Also, here, it could only be a temporary sign, but that might help at this time of year. You would also need to find a suitable site, where you could put a temporary sign, etc. Your Council may have different rules, but it might be worth finding out, for next year.

Good luck.

[Baldwin hedgehog]

Thanks for your replies and advise i will look into warning signs. I fear that Dee is right and that most people drive around without any thought of what might venture out into the road. I remember locally a few years ago a bypass was built through an area which has great crested newts and because they are protected the highways authority had to put barriers to prevent the newts crossing the road. these also make excellent barriers for any small mammals including hedgehogs but until hedgehogs afford the same protection as newts i doubt they would be considered in hedgehog blackspots. The day will come when we push hedgehogs to near extinction in this country and only then will they possibly get the protection they need. Historically we don’t act until its too late, look at the state of the ocean for example, neglected and pillaged and now near impossible to fix. very very sad

[Dan]

I share the despondency here. I spent a big chunk of this morning logging my sightings of hog roadkills over the last 12 months on to the Big Hedgehog Map. I wish somebody that has the power would do more about this. You see signs for deer, frogs and ducks but not hedgehogs. I don’t see why they cannot become widely implemented in busy areas where there is a sizeable amount of hedgehog activity. We had around 10 squashed on our estate (at least that I know of) in the last 2-3 years.

[Author]

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