Hedgehogs

SNH says it is now investigating other sources of funding for a large scale removal project.

Hedgehogs are alien to the Hebrides but in 1974 four were introduced by a gardener in Daliburgh in South Uist to keep down slugs.

An extermination programme to kill them off was launched in 2003 but SNH later conceded to allow trapped hedgehogs to be kept alive and relocated on the mainland.

Before previous funding ended, North Uist was been effectively cleared of hedgehogs but South Uist - the worse hit area - is still overrun by the species which are blamed for dramatic declines in wading birds on the island over the past 25 years.

Video cameras set up near nests have caught alien hedgehogs redhanded, providing vital proof for the first time that they are actively hunting for baby birds and newly laid eggs.

Video: Hedgehog kills baby chicks

Video: Hedgehog hunting for eggs

Video: Lapwings try to defend nest

Video: Hedgehog scares off mother, eats eggs

Hedgehog removal plan in limbo

30 March 2017

Plans for a mass removal of hedgehogs from South Uist are in limbo due to a lack of funding.

A 10-year plan was due to start this year to capture the predators which destroy the eggs of ground-nesting birds like dunlin, ringed plover, redshank, snipe, lapwing and oystercatcher.

Caught hedgehogs would be relocated live to the mainland.

However, a bid for core European funding was unsuccessful and - in the shadow of Brexit - a reapplication for EC money is extremely unlikely.