Madam,

I have learnt via online campaigning organisation 38 degrees that the government’s DEFRA has approved the A24 trap from New Zealand for use in the UK (in New Zealand it is used to kill hedgehogs which are regarded as a pest there).

The government has approved the trap for use on rats and stoats, and expect people using the trap to make sure they don’t accidentally trap hedgehogs.

But hedgehog expert Hugh Warwick thinks this will make little difference: “The reality is nobody is going to be policing it, nobody is going to be out there, and hedgehogs will get caught in these traps.”

Hedgehogs are a protected species in the UK. It’s illegal to trap and kill them, even accidentally.

Due to the destruction of their habitat by the removal of hedgerows this British favourite has come into urban areas and sought food and safety in our gardens. This has resulted in many deaths as they find most gardeners use slug pellets which are toxic to them, and the other main danger for them in urban areas is road death.

Please send a letter to Defra to protest against this and sign the petition here: https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/our-hedgehogs-need-help

Yours etc,

Moth Foster, Penparcau, Aberystwyth.

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