Hedgehogs are considered to be one of Britain's favourite animals

The organisation is to have the animals gathered and transported from the Uists to the mainland.

The cull was started to protect the eggs of rare wading birds. The agency had previously said hedgehogs would not survive relocation.

However, animal welfare campaigners began their own programme of trapping and transporting the hedgehogs.

SNH says it will continue to catch the hedgehogs and then hand them over to a welfare organisation.

We sincerely hope that lessons will be learned from this experience and that conservation organisations will incorporate a respect for animals and their welfare into future policies UHR spokesman Ross Minett Making sense of the cull

Until now 690 hedgehogs have been culled.

SNH's decision to suspend the scheme was welcomed by the Uist Hedgehog Rescue coalition.

Spokesman, Ross Minett, said: "We have offered SNH the benefit of our expertise and experience of translocating hedgehogs from the Uists.

"We sincerely hope that lessons will be learned from this experience and that conservation organisations will incorporate a respect for animals and their welfare into future policies."