DEFRA
Nobel House
17, Smith Square
LONDON
SW1P 3 JR
ENGLAND
Mister the Minister,
As a member of the association “le Sanctuaire des Hérissons” ( the hedgehogs’s sanctuary) in France, I
beg you to have an influence on the SNH final judgment (Scottish Natural Heritage 12 Hope Terrace,
Edinburgh) who threaten to continue his hedgehogs extermination plan on UIST island from the April, 7 th until
May, 23rd of 2004. (This genocide set out in 2003 is planning the destruction of 5000 hedgehogs for a period of
four or five years).
This gratuitous and insufferable genocide can be avoided easily, for this purpose, numerous British
wildlife associations (British Hedgehogs Preservation Society, Advocates for Animals, Hessilhead Animal
Rescue Center, International Animal Rescue, The Mammals Society) are proposing their free services to delocalize and re-localize animals on the continent.
The hedgehogs on UIST island are eating less than 4% of birds eggs, The hedgehogs mortality is at
40%, these statistics comes from the SNH website. We can understand to not privilege a species for an another
but hedgehogs can be relocate without any problem. They were imported by “mankind” in the seventies and
due to this fact, “mankind” must repair his past mistake. The SNH still pretend in 2004 that de-locate
hedgehogs brings too much stress for them and it is better to kill them, this is totally illogical, cruel and untrue,
we establish that all animals that are re-locate in a different environment are all in good condition. Those that
were imported on UIST island by humans in thirty years ago are the living proves because of their reproduction
they are now sentenced to death ! This step is awfully expensive for the SNH (and it is going to be more
expensive because of the SNH decision to double his strength and increase the search area to capture more
animals when they are going to quit hibernation in the only aim to counter the mobilized British associations
present to restrict this wild slaughtering).
All of this is completely stupid, illogical and monstruous, a complete non-sense. The hedgehog is an
animal completely protected in the entire Europe and by way of his protection, a very special attention is
necessary, especially that your statistics are proving that hedgehogs in the continent are diminishing. This set of
re-location could be an intelligent way of balancing the situation and satisfy each part. This approved
extermination decided by the SNH looks like disgraced actions perpetuated for now more than sixty years on
mankind…
We implore you to use your authority to have an influence on the SNH for not putting on their menace
plan into execution and to let the British associations to fight a duel. We hope from the deep of our hearts that
you will listening to the prayers of the speechless, the innocents that can not express themselves and you will
leave no stone unturned to stop this ignominy.
In the hope that the image of your splendid country where the animals rights seems to be more present
than in the others European countries will not be sully by the UIST hedgehogs’s blood. As mahatma Gandhi
was saying “ the greatness of a nation and his ethical progress can be judged by the way this nation treats
animals”.
Yours truly, Mister Minister.