HEDGEHOGS UNDER THREAT. PLEASE SIGN BHPS PETITION.
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https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/183526
http://www.britishhedgehogs.org.uk/a24-rat-stoat-hedgehog-trap/
The rate of signatures has slowed down considerably recently. It was boosted on a couple of days, I suspect, as a result of tweets by Brian May and Chris Packham, otherwise it has been below 200 signatures for far too many days. To succeed it needs to be more like 500 signatures a day.
We all need to work really hard to try to spread the word about this Petition. I am sure many people would ‘sign’ if they knew about it. Not all the people who were registered on Hedgehog Street before the update have signed. There were more than 40,000 on Hedgehog Street, but only a little less than 27,000 people in total, have signed the Petition to date.
This trap has the potential to seriously impact on hedgehog numbers in England. Just imagine if someone near you got one of them and all the hedgehogs in the area were wiped out in a very short space of time. It could happen. The A24 trap chucks out any animal it kills and resets itself repeatedly. Multiple hedgehogs could be killed in just one night. It just doesn’t bear thinking about. But we must think about it – and work hard to spread the word about the Petition to try to get the licence for the terrible hedgehog killing trap removed in England.
Penny has produced some brilliant posters and leaflets. (See under BHPS A24 TRAP PETITION POSTERS & LEAFLETS – under Champions Chat). Please download and use these. Try tying a bundle of the leaflets through a corner, and put them on notice boards with the poster, so people can take one home with them, so they don’t forget. Carry some around with you when you go out. You never know when you might find a notice board or meet someone you can hand one to. Share any tips you have of how to help spread the word.
Please also write to your MP. Their contact details are readily available online. Check the map for the Petition and see how many other people have signed in your constituency and remember to mention this in your letter. The initial response may just be a ‘standard’ one, but persevere.
PLEASE EVERYONE. ACT NOW. HELP PROTECT THE NATION’S HEDGEHOGS.
I’ve just been up to my local, independent petshop for some more kitten biscuits as my hogs are eating me out of house and home! Last time I called in there I left some of Penny’s excellent Petition leaflets and one of the large posters. The manager kindly put some of the leaflets on the counter and displayed the large poster on the entrance door. He said that one lady asked what it was about and when it was explained to her she was so incensed that she immediately went home and wrote to her MP! Great result! I am very surprised that so few of the “Hedgehog Champions” appear to have signed the Petition. If they don’t, how can we expect other members of the public to do so?
Hi Prickles,
Love the photo. You’ve put me to shame, I intended to put a poster up in our local vets, but still haven’t got around to doing it. I shall make sure I do it this week.
It’s a bit worrying that there doesn’t seem to be many of us on here at the moment; could it be that people’s hedgehogs haven’t returned or is it just because they haven’t registered on the new revamped website?
Well done Prickles, that’s the sort of thing we need. The way I see it, we need to try to get the licence removed asap, not just wait until 13th September. These traps are out there now, and the nation’s hogs are at risk now. If there is going to be a general election it will be a good opportunity for everyone to tackle their MPs about it – they will all be wanting our votes.
Penny, I thing maybe there aren’t many people on the Forum because there is still a notice on the log in page saying they are still refreshing the site. Not sure whether that is still ongoing.
I emailed the Wildlife Trust to ask their position on these traps, to my dismay they haven’t had the decency to reply. For an organisation of this type not to have an opinion in a subject as important as this is shameful. I will send a follow up this week. This trap isn’t just a danger to hedgehogs but to a lot of unintended species.
I wonder if part of the problem is that these traps are being marketed as good for wildlife – hence the name Goodnature. They may be helpful to wildlife in New Zealand, but this is a very different place. They are marketed as being helpful to clear pests – rats and stoats and even grey squirrels from wildlife reserves, etc. The marketing here does not necessarily even mention the possibility of catching hedgehogs, despite the fact that is what they are used for in New Zealand. Even so, you would think the Wildlife Trusts would have realised the problems by now.
I found a picture on Goodnature UK’s Twitter of one of these traps set up. There was no extra tunnel or any sort of casing. It was attached to a pole and looked to be set close enough to the ground that a hedgehog could easily access it.
The particular additional problem with this trap as opposed to other traps out there, is the chucking out and re-setting part of it. A ‘normal’ trap might kill one animal a night. The A24 can kill many.
Hi Penny. My photo is of one of the hogs that I collected from Tiggywinkles for release in my garden, which is one of their approved sites. I had problems logging back into the new site and I actually had to register again, so maybe others are having similar problems. I wish I shared Nic’s optimism about MPs showing interest now there is a general election. Call me cynical, but I think wildlife is not uppermost in the minds of most (certainly Conservative) MPs at any time, let alone now. Shocking also that there has been no response from the Wildlife Trusts.
Hi Prickles
I’m not optimistic that the MPs will take much notice, but it is an opportunity, when they might be a captive audience. There must, surely be the occasional MP who cares about wildlife. Even, possibly, a Conservative one? Anything is worth a try. Might be a relief for them to talk about something other than their current main topic of conversation, for a while!
Hi Prickles,
I’ve just posted the second letter to our MP today, but like you I fear that they will all have a one track mind after the announcement of the June election yesterday…If only I could go into hibernation for the next few weeks.
I had heard that the Wildlife Trusts don’t want to get involved, which is a great pity, because they must have a huge database of members who would be only too willing to sign the petition given the opportunity. Maybe if we all bombard them with letters they might just think again.
Just remember everyone, that if the 100,000 signatures is reached in the Petition, it will be the MPs who will be debating the matter in Parliament. The hedgehogs need them on their side. The General Election may be a distraction but we can still try to put the message over – for the hedgehogs – if we get the chance.
Hi everyone.
I had no idea how these things worked before, but I have just seen from the Petition home page that:
‘All petitions will now close at 00:01am on 3 May 2017
There will be an early General Election on Thursday 8 June. This means that Parliament has to be dissolved at 00:01am (just after midnight) on Wednesday 3 May, and that all parliamentary business – including petitions – has to stop.
Find out more on the Petitions Committee website’The Petitions Committee website basically, says that all the Petitions are completely cancelled. Any signatures cannot be carried over. A new Petition has to be started after the General Election.
I suppose this would have been even worse if we had been further along the line with the Petition.
I have recently written my third letter to DEFRA. Their first and second responses were just pretty much the government line. I don’t know what happens to things like that now. Whether they are all disregarded as well. I said (amongst other things) that I appreciated there were other matters under way at present, but that hedgehogs did not have the luxury of time. And that a simple decision needs to be taken to remove the licence for the A24 trap immediately.
Looks like the hedgehogs (along with many other things, I suppose) are going to be let down by the General Election.
I hope BHPS will start a new Petition after the Election and then we will all have to sign again!
Hi Nic,
You are right…poor hogs now caught up in the Election business. And yes if new petition started we will have to sign again.
Poor hogs in my garden been making fast runs to feeding station tonight through the cold hail stones……feels like winter out there !! Hoggie cousins don’t need threat of Traps as well snowy stuff in Spring.
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