On Monday 5th July the UK Government is going to have a debate about increasing the level of protection offered towards hedgehogs. This is as a result of the successful petition organised by the British Hedgehog Preservation Society reaching 108,327 signatures.

The initial response from Government on 19th October last years was not encouraging. “There are currently no plans to give hedgehogs further legal protection.” However, the weight of public opinion will have an impact - and our petition shows quite how much support the hedgehogs have. 

So there are TWO asks:

This debate is massively important - PLEASE get in touch with your MP NOW - this week - to encourage them to attend the debate, to contribute and to support the decision that will be taken about the fate of our favourite creature. 

HERE is some suggested wording for the letter you send to your MP.

To find the email address for your MP just pop your postcode in HERE. 

The debate will be broadcast live HERE. Just in case you thought that this would be dull - I commend to you the speech by Rory Stewart from 2015 which was described by the Speaker of the House as one of the best speeches they had heard. And I also get a mention (as being eccentric I seem to remember!)

The second action I would really love you to take is to push this petition over a million ... if we can do that by next Monday it will really show the support behind the hedgehog. If just over 1% of you get one other person to sign up we are there! 

This is a fantastic opportunity to help turn around the fate of the hedgehog. Please do all you can. Thank you.

Photo credit: British Hedgehog Preservation Society.