Dear Hedgehog Fans,

Yes, there is such a thing! The European Hedgehog Research Group is a wonderful gathering of ecologists, campaigners and rehabilitates who share what they have learned. And the most recent event took place in Prague last week.

I loved Prague when I visited years ago - discovering gorgeous music oozing out of stunning churches - and some very fine beer. But this time - like most attendees - I was sat in my shed for two days of Zoom calls.

And you all got a mention! If not by name, then certainly by number - I was lucky enough to be invited to present a review of the campaigning we have been doing through the petition ... and I created a new title for what we have been up to ... 'Research - Engage - Act - Repeat' - I argued that for us to create a change for the good for hedgehogs (and nature in general) we need to do (or get done) high quality research, we need to engage with the public and encourage them to act ... and then do it all again!

If you would like to have a look through the work that was presented - here are the abstracts from the conference.

Mine was one of the least science-based pieces of work. There was a detailed look at the story I posted last time about MRSA; a fascinating look at parasites of hedgehogs and how they are a natural part of their ecology; the evolutionary history was really interesting - as the Czech Republic is at the meeting point of 'our' hedgehog and the Northern White-breasted hedgehog. 

My friend Sophie Lund Rasmussen presented her work on the stress of hedgehogs in care, and also how she looked at the 'personality' of hedgehogs. Now I have long argued that these are animals stuffed full of personality ... but she was measuring a specific quality of either shyness of boldness - and whether these had an impact on the ability of the hedgehogs to thrive. Most importantly, she concluded that when hedgehogs are in care they do suffer from stress - as measured in hormone changes. And the stress is increased by being moved. 

Short term survival did not seem to be compromised by the stress of rehabilitation, but she did express a concern about hedgehogs becoming immunocompromised during captivity. The bottom line advice was to avoid captivity wherever possible - obviously you intervene when it is needed, but to not presume that every hedgehog needs to be in a cage.

Nicolas Messieux gave a really sharp analysis of the reaction in France to the rise in awareness about hedgehogs - and also the very different culture that persists towards wildlife in parts of the country. Despite being considered a species of 'least concern' throughout France there has been a growth in claims that hedgehogs are heading for extinction. We have had a few occasions where people have 'over-egged the pudding' in the UK too ... there is no need to exaggerate! His main complaint was that the focus is very much on saving individual hedgehogs rather than looking at the health of the wider population. The absence of anything like the BHPS does hamper action in France.

London HogWatch is an amazing bunch - doing research across the capital using camera traps - identifying where hedgehogs are clinging on and revealing the importance of connecting up gardens. 

Lauren Moore, who is completing her PhD at Nottingham Trent University on the impact of roads on hedgehogs. She has collected evidence to support my less scientific observations that while busy A roads act as barriers, quieter B roads can end up killing more hedgehogs as they are less unpleasant habitats to approach and use.

There was a sneak preview about a VERY important report coming out next month - the State of Britain's Hedgehogs 2022 is going to be the cornerstone of our conservation focus for the next few years. But I can't tell you anything yet as it is under embargo. 

Hedgehog Street got a chance to show what we have achieved over the last ten years. The amazing developments with Henry the Hedgehog were a highlight. Having a trained sniffer dog who can identify where hedgehogs are is a massive breakthrough in the work we are doing to ensure developers can safely move the animals out of harms way. There are some very small-minded individuals who seem to think that using a dog is in someway is bad for the hedgehogs ... but those people have either not read, or were unable to understand the research. Henry never touches the hogs. We need more Henrys!

And the final talk - well - somewhat outside the normal for the EHRG, but utterly fascinating all the same. Brawin Kumar presented his findings on the Madras hedgehog - from India - and made a whole lot of researchers fed up of wandering around in the damp and cold of northern Europe consider the chances of maybe taking their research somewhere warmer. His research now includes a cartoon strip with which he attempts to educate people about this lovely little beast!

Listening to presentations on Zoom is an amazing achievement - but perhaps the most important aspect of the conference was, obviously, missing. Meeting researchers from around the world is just so important in building our understanding ... and I long for the next EHRG where we can (hopefully) all meet in person again. I might argue for it being in Prague ... because this conference was partnered by the Hedgehog Brewery ... and that was something Zoom could not help with!