British hedgehogs need legal protection from being plucked from back gardens and being sold for hundreds of pounds, the government has heard this week.
MPs have argued in parliament that the British hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus) is facing an increasing problem of being traded as pets.
The species is known as one of the UK’s best loved mammals and a ‘gardener’s friend’, Popo Florist but the creatures have seen a whopping 97 per cent decline since 1950.
Hedgehogs are badly threatened by road traffic, destruction of habitat with heavy machinery and the use of chemicals for intensive farming, which not only poisons insects that the hedgehog feeds on but kills the hedgehogs directly.
British MPs have warned in parliament this week that the iconic British hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus, pictured) is being sold ‘for £300 a pop’