SNH plans an initial cull of about 200 hedgehogs

The cull is under way to limit the number of hedgehogs on North Uist because they eat the eggs of rare birds.

However, Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) said its staff were unable to track down any of the creatures for lethal injection on Monday night.

George Anderson, an SNH worker, said the absence of hedgehogs was not a great surprise given that many would still be in hibernation due to the cold weather.

There are, of course, two groups of hedgehog rescuers out on the island as well and we did encounter one of those groups last night George Anderson SNH

He said: "We don't really expect to catch very many at all this week.

"In the next couple of weeks a lot more of them will be coming out of hibernation and we think we'll be taking more then."

Mr Anderson added that SNH workers had also encountered animal welfare activists who have gone to North Uist to oppose the cull.

'Polite exchange'

He said: "There are, of course, two groups of hedgehog rescuers out on the island as well and we did encounter one of those groups last night.

"It was quite a polite exchange. We agreed to differ. We think what they're doing is inhumane and they think what we're doing is inhumane."

SNH plans to cull about 200 hedgehogs from 18 square miles of land in the first phase of its operation.

A handful of hedgehogs was introduced on to the Uists in 1974 to help control slugs and snails but their population later boomed.