100 signatures reached
To: UK Government
Regulate the sale of Hedgehog Food
https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/public38/images/councillor.gif
Hedgehogs are now classed as vulnerable to extinction. We are calling on the government to bring in regulations to protect them from unsafe "Hedgehog Food" products, that can result in an agonising death.
Why is this important?
On 30th July 2020, hedgehogs were added to the Red List for British mammals and classified as vulnerable to extinction.
The Dartford Hedgehog Project and wonderful hedgehog groups across the country are doing their upmost to help this species recover, by raising awareness of their needs, encouraging communities to allow access through hedgehog highways, provide shelter and suitable food - such as dry kitten food with a high meat percentage. This has had a positive impact in urban areas, however there is still a long way to go!
Also, sadly, well meaning people are buying products labelled as specialist hedgehog food, but as food for wildlife is currently completely unregulated, this can lead to deadly consequences for hedgehogs.
A lot of the food supposedly designed for them contains ingredients such as wheat, calci worms, meal worms, fruit, sunflower seeds, nuts or oats. Eating too much of this causes teeth issues and metabolic bone disease in hedgehogs. This is a debilitating condition that eventually leads to an agonising death.
It is simply unacceptable that products that can cause such harm are currently allowed to be sold freely! We are therefore calling on the government to bring in regulations to the sale of food specifically labelled as suitable for Hedgehogs!
Written by Green Party Cllr Laura Edie,
On behalf of Dartford Hedgehog Project.
