Hedgehogs are everywhere!

Hedgehogs are getting everywhere – if only it was beyond the pages of papers and magazines. There has been a veritable flurry of hedgehoggery – that has kept me, and the teams at the BHPS and the PTES, very busy for the past couple of weeks.

The news that sparked all the attention was the disturbing data from two long-running surveys that revealed a fall in numbers of hedgehogs considerably in excess of what we had previously thought.

While Mammals on Roads showed a 32% decline in the last ten years, the long-running Living with Mammals survey indicated a decline of 37% between 2003 and 2012. The declines are not uniform across the country, with a spread of between 3% and 5% disappearing each and every year. Continue reading

A few reviews

I was rummaging through a pile of unfiled paper on my desk and came across a copy of The Lady from April 2010. The magazine was in my mind already as they have just published a very pleasing review of The Beauty in the Beast – apparently I have ‘some fine stylistic touches too – a bumblebee is ‘furry, like an impossibly light mouse‘.’ and that the book should be ‘Read it in the garden, with the sun on your face and perhaps be spurred on to help protect Britain’s most vulnerable species.’

So as I flicked through the pages of horse riding poshness I was thrilled to be reminded that they had reviewed A Prickly Affair … and described it as a ‘quirky, entertaining, mad, informative and ultimately serious book…‘ which I have to say rather got it I reckon! Continue reading

Nearly there …

I am so close to nearly having the website up and running in the manner that I want it to be that I am unable to hold off … mainly because it has material on it about which I am rather proud. You will see that the url has changed – and that now this is all at www.urchin.info – which site also has the podcasts that go with my new book, a gallery of photographs (some of which are related to the book (and which will be working soon, I hope)), a smattering of articles I found online and my events page … just wondering whether I should start to put WI talks in there as well! Continue reading

In the news

This is just a very quick round up of some of the coverage we have managed to get for the launch of Hedgehog Street campaign and also the report, the State of Britain’s Hedgehogs.

1st June was launch day and we had pieces in the Daily Mail and the Daily Telegraph. Then there was the radio blitz, I did the breakfast show on BBC Wales, then BBC West Midlands followed by a manic cycle ride to the BBC studios in Oxford. But that was nothing compared to what others got up to. Fay at the BHPS did three interviews I think and Laura at the PTES had the joy of sitting in a studio and being pinged around the country, doing 13 local radio stations, one after the other.

The night before the launch I was asked to write something for the Guardian website, as part of Comment is Free – and thank goodness for Harry Potter, as my two children watched half an episode while I wrote it after dinner. It emerged on the Guardian website around lunch time and by the next morning (as I am writing) was still on the front page and had stimulated such a debate that there were 175 comments – mostly from people sympathetic to hedgehogs (though there were a few offering recipe tips).

Then this morning, well, I had forgotten I had been interviewed by a journalist from the Independent a week or so ago … not sure if I sound entirely sane in this piece, but great to see my old friend Sue in there too.

There have been a host of re-postings, and local media interest too, so the story is out there. Which feels like something of a triumph. I have played this ‘game’ many times before, but rarely with such success – and while this was undoubtedly down in part to the wonderful pr team at Firebird (thanks Jane) it is also down to luck … if bin Laden had been shot yesterday, we would not have had a fraction of the attention; if another footballer had been caught with his injunctions around his ankles, we would have been lost.

The last time I helped launch a hedgehog story on the world the UK government, without a whisper to anyone else, released a hedgehog-related story the day before … and we were sunk … the media are happy to cover tittle-tattle day in day out, delighted to revel in economics and way without fatigue, but hedgehogs? Can’t do them too often … people would get bored …

Well, I would disagree with that idea … bored of hedgehogs? Never!

Sonic Attack

I have avoided Sonic the Hedgehog for as long as possible – mainly because I have never played the game and have absolutely no idea what the excitement is all about. That is probably more of an indictment of my age rather than the game – though I would still love someone to explain the draw.

But now I am forced to write about Sonic and the Sega empire that spawned him (is Sonic male?) because they have managed to get a splash in the Daily Mail today. Which I only know thanks to the wonders of Google alerts.

The story?

“Dramatic decline of one of the nation’s favourite creatures: 300,000 fewer hedgehogs in Britain than a decade ago”

And it goes on to say some very important things about the decline in hedgehog numbers, how the data is gathered – through the rather unpalatable mechanism of counting road kill – and brings in ideas of intensive farming being one of the key problems for rural hedgehogs. All good stuff.

So why am I grumpy?

Well that is the story really. It is a story of how the PR industry ‘use and abuse’ on behalf of their clients. It is a story riddled with self-indulgent moaning about the hard lot of a freelance writer who keeps getting drawn into doing the work for people who are being paid each and every month – even when they make such absurd mistakes as has been done in this instance. But mostly it is a story that asks the big question … what numpty put those hedgehogs in the picture?

Back in September I got a message from Sega’s PR company, Mischief PR. They wanted help in the run up to the launch of their new game and they wrote to all sorts of hedgehog related groups around the country. A few were passed on to me – and more than once, promises were made, e.g. “We would make a donation to the UIST Hedgehog Rescue for your involvement and would also be mentioning the charity in our press materials, so aiming to raise awareness of the work you guys do! It is designed to be a fun event, but also ones that highlights the serious nature of your charity.”

There were looking for the most dangerous road crossing in the UK for hedgehogs, they wanted quotes on the numbers of hedgehogs killed on the roads and they wanted a supply of hedgehogs to pose for a photo-shoot.

Given that this was done with the promise of publicity and money for the BHPS – of whom I am a trustee – I decided to invest quite some time and managed to find them a suitable place, some hedgehogs and plenty of facts about the state of hedgehogs.

I asked if I could come to the photo shoot – as by now they were hoping to do some sort of Abbey Road mock up … and I though it would be quite fun to see, and also be something I could use in my talks. I find the whole iconography of the hedgehog fascinating. I even had a positive response from Radio 4’s Saving Species programme who were interested in using this to spark a discussion on the true impact of roads on wildlife. This is important because dead hedgehogs, and dead anything else for that matter, is far from the full story. Roads, especially busy roads, act as real, physical barriers to many species. They have a far greater impact on the environment than simply dead beasts.

They agreed and said they would let me know when it was all happening … and I decided, having dealt with PR companies before, not to hold my breath. And a good job too! As the event all took place with not one jot of communication with me, despite promises to the contrary. Even my phone calls were ignored.

And if they had invited me along? Well, then they would not have made the mistake, which has made them look utterly ridiculous. Somehow they have ended up with an African Pygmy Hedgehog in the shot. Have a look at the picture, the hedgehog on the left looks a little different – smaller, whiter spines. That is not a native hedgehog. If Sega want to go helping Atelerix frontalis and Ateleric albiventris, I would suggest they start investing in conservation projects in Africa, not encourage people to take them in as pets.

I have written quite a bit about these before now. These are pet hedgehogs. The craze for keeping them as pets was big and brief in the USA – as is always the case with fad pets. And there are people who would like to see the same thing happen here. Now I have spent plenty of time with these pet hedgehogs and can see why some people, especially those unable to do much in the way of moving themselves, might find them agreeable. They are cute and they can be tamed into cuddliness.

BUT – we have our own wild hedgehogs here, and if the craze does kick off, it is inevitable that unscrupulous dealers will start trying to palm off our wild hedgehogs as pets, and when boredom sets in, as it will do, and people want to get rid of their pets, they will either just release them into the wild – where they will die – or hand them on to a hedgehog rescue centre, that will be poorly equipped to deal with – and unable to re-release the animal.

So, Sega, and your PR machine, it is time to correct the picture and to pay up – there are a number of hedgehog carers who have spent considerable amounts of time and energy, only to feel ignored, and there groups like the BHPS as well – who would all benefit from a fraction of your great wealth. More importantly, there are thousands of hedgehogs out there who would benefit from some scrapings from the Sonic table – oh, and don’t forget the unpaid writers!

Lets see Sega make good on its promises, or lets start a call to boycott Sonic.

And just as a final note – who thought that sticking boots, ‘Sonic’ boots, onto a young hedgehog was going to make it happy? Poor thing looks utterly miserable.