Readers may remember the TV sketch where a Royal family member ran over a hedgehog and stuck a "kill" sticker to the side of her vehicle - a reflection on the unsympathetic attitude of that person to wildlife. It seemed funny at the time, but the numbers of this endearing creature are in serious decline in France (hedgehogs, not royals).
Over the last 20 years the numbers have declined by 70%. Not only are almost one million killed crossing our ever expanding road network every year, but many of the colonies are in poor condition as a result of the use of agricultural pesticides. Hedgehogs eat insects and slugs and their food sources are under threat so it is rare to see Mrs Tiggywinkle and family, even squashed on the road.
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