Sniffer dogs will be used to search for hedgehogs on Barra after one of the non-native animals was discovered for the first time on the island.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Their presence has been linked to a decline in wading birds on the neighbouring islands of South Uist and Benbecula.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
NatureScot has launched an investigation following the discovery of a dead hedgehog on a road in Barra.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sniffer dogs will be used to determine whether there are any other people on the island.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to NatureScot, if any mammals are captured, they will be relocated and released in a safe location.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Staff from NatureScot will search the areas with trained sniffer dogs and establish a network.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hedgehogs were first introduced to the islands in 1974, when seven were released in South Uist without permission to eat slugs in gardens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Conservationists discovered the creatures were eating the eggs of ground-nesting birds as the population grew.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wading bird populations began to decline in the mid-1980s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hedgehogs were common throughout South Uist and Benbecula by 1995, thanks in part to a lack of predators and not being run down on the isles’ quiet roads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To address the issue, the Uist Wader Project was established, which initially involved the culling of hedgehogs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Following public outrage over the animals’ deaths, the project shifted to trapping and relocating them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hundreds of hedgehogs have been relocated since 2002.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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