Recently in Hazelbury Bryan we had a sad incident where three adult and two baby hedgehogs were accidentally killed by a subcontractor cutting a grass verge with a tractor.
Building works were about to commence and with the expected amount of traffic associated with house building, the verges were considered a hazard.
As a Hedgehog Rescue I was appalled at the senseless and tragic loss of life of these beautiful little creatures, and indeed it appears that the whole of the village were up in arms. I keep remembering all the hedgehogs that were released in Hazelbury Bryan from our rescue so I could keep a closer eye on them – but of course, that is just a romantic notion, and they ran away as fast from me as they would from any other person, possibly faster!
So how do we live our modern lives along with creatures like hedgehogs? It has been wonderful to see the grass verges left to grow long, with grasses and wild flowers but inevitably there comes a time when they will need to be cut. The risk then is greater to the wildlife who have settled and made it their home. Would it have been better to keep the verges short all the time, cutting every few weeks so hedgehogs and other creatures think twice about making a home there?
Farmers cutting fields for hay, gardeners with wild areas and even those choosing to have wild meadows are all to face this dilemma sooner rather than later. If we just consider the wildlife and cut the grass longer before cutting it to its required length it may help and give the wildlife a chance to escape.
On a happier note our fund raising event on 26th June was a fantastic success and we raised a whopping £1500 to enable our little rescue to continue. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who helped on the day. You are fantastic. Thank you if you came along and enjoyed the atmosphere.
Jeanette is currently fundraising for a much-needed new microscope: she needs to cover the £600 cost of a replacement. To help, please donate via Paypal here.
“Without your help we would not be able to continue our valuable care of these beautiful, grumpy, smelly and endearing little creatures.”.
