Reply to THIS thread
Start a NEW Talkback Thread
Talkback Home

Hedgehogs - Gilly (10th Jun 2022 - 17:17:59) Another terminally injured hedgehog thanks to careless strimming. Please check before you cut. So cruel

Re: Hedgehogs - Helen (11th Jun 2022 - 12:39:09) This makes me so sad

Re: Hedgehogs - SA (12th Jun 2022 - 15:01:30) That is very sad as they are so critically endangered. Which area were the hedgehogs in because I haven't seen a live hedgehog in or around Liphook for 5 years if not longer. I have noticed an increase in number of dead young deer on the roads around here lately though.

Re: Hedgehogs - Gilly (12th Jun 2022 - 15:52:37) Same place as the 3 that died in the autumn - opposite Churchers Junior School. Sadly, the first 3 just happened to appear after the school had blown leaves all day, this latest one after the school had strimmed all day. Why they can't take 10 minutes to check the area before they work, I do not understand, particularly as they are so proud of their rural location. No excuse really

Re: Hedgehogs - Ginny (12th Jun 2022 - 21:00:42) That's so very sad. It wouldn't take much to check an area before strimming it, yet sadly this sort of thing seems to happen too often. The hedgehog rescue places often end up rehabilitating the ones that aren't fatally injured. On a happier note, I have at least 3 hedgehogs that visit my garden every night to feed and often sleep over, so there are still some around in liphook. I cringe every time I hear a strimmer though.

Re: Hedgehogs - D (13th Jun 2022 - 07:51:40) Of course this is going to happen, so much for letting the grass grow to support wildlife. A very short sighted, idealistic policy.

Re: Hedgehogs - dave (13th Jun 2022 - 10:36:26) Blimey, there must be a Blue Moon, I am in agreement with D! that's a first.

Re: Hedgehogs - D (13th Jun 2022 - 10:46:28) Me and Dave agreeing? Shocking, absolutely shocking. I'm going for a lie down.

Re: Hedgehogs - Gilly (13th Jun 2022 - 12:13:39) At least something good's come out of the original post then!!

Re: Hedgehogs - D (13th Jun 2022 - 13:27:52) Not for the hedgehogs whom died as a direct result of not keeping verges regularly trimmed. But hey, don't the overgrown verges full of weeds look wonderful?

Re: Hedgehogs - passfield resident (13th Jun 2022 - 15:38:36) Often organisations like schools have areas strimmed just because it's cheaper then having a proper grounds person or gardener. It might not be anything to do with any policy of letting areas grow for the sake of wildlife.

Re: Hedgehogs - Pete (13th Jun 2022 - 15:55:39) D- I tell you what why don't we let the verges grow through breeding season, instead of being the selfish humans we are that are more interested in cosmetics rather than the fact we are destroying our environment, and then check them before strimming.

Re: Hedgehogs - Anon (13th Jun 2022 - 16:47:19) Personally I’d create wildlife havens away from roads where they have a much better chance of not getting squashed. The number of insects getting whacked by vehicles is scary. Many of us can create wildlife havens in our own gardens, install hedgehog homes, perhaps areas of Radford park could be allowed to grow long and for longer rather than the majority of it being cut short. We may have entered the who can grow the biggest dock plant on the verges competition but surely some more thought should go into all this.

Re: Hedgehogs - D (13th Jun 2022 - 17:49:37) Pete, there is having an opinion, and there is being fanatical. You are the latter.

Re: Hedgehogs - Penny Williamson (13th Jun 2022 - 18:54:57) I agree with Anon. Verges by roadsides left a couple of months do not help the environment. Places like Radford Park are ideal for creating wildlife havens and I think they do that already. Gardens as well if you have the space, commonland and parks are the places to have wildlife friendly areas.

Re: Hedgehogs - er (14th Jun 2022 - 11:58:20) Yes, a conundrum, def more thought needs to go into this No Mow May thing, it's currently another case of the latest fad which is high on good intentions, low on good thinking and even lower on accountability! Certainly whilst cut grass/lawn looks great and is ok for small insects, even birds who can catch their prey easier, it's no good for small mammals who need to hide and scurry in safety, so it's a dead zone to them. But placing taller grass by the sides of fast roads is clearly poor placement for those same small mammals, land should be set aside away from roads (as has been suggested). To compound this error, no sooner is the wildlife enticed into the long grass than some human with a noisy machine comes along the next month, terrifying the creatures whose naturallly evolved instinct is to stay put and hide in the (safety) of the long grass, but the machine shows no mercy, unlike a grazing herbivore, the machine churns up mercilessly the entire grassland along with it's occupants, turning the long grass into an even bigger dead zone than the short grass! Some better thinking is needed, it seems there have been unintended consequences. PS the wildflower area in the Millennium Green looks really great, but that is a small area and I bet it is managed naturally and with the level of manpower the council could never achieve along the roads. Perhaps even if they preceded the mower with an old fashioned beater it might help give the hedgehogs a chance, but that would double the manpower needed and in these times could the council fund it, volunteers amongst the No Mow May fans perhaps??

Re: Hedgehogs - Nicky (18th Jun 2022 - 08:28:39) ** Editor why have a number of comments been removed from this thread? My innocent comment seems to have disappeared? 🤔 Hi Nicky, sorry if your post got deleted. I had to use a strimmer to cut out the squabbling going on. You post was collateral damage I'm afraid.

Re: Hedgehogs - M (18th Jun 2022 - 08:34:30) ER, one of the best and most sensible comments on this "No Mow May" debate, totally agree with you. Roadside and pavement side verges in built up areas are not suitable to be left unmown for months during the spring/summer. Larger areas of grass, that aren't used as play areas, can be left, possibly for ever, to be allowed to become wild. As a minimum verges should be regularly cut to 1 metre from the road/footpath for safety. Everyone comments on how nice the wild flower area on the Millennium Green looks but we mustn't forget this isn't a wild area, it has been carefully planned and maintained by Liphook in Bloom, so hardly a "wild" area, more like a flowerbed.

Re: Hedgehogs - Nicky (18th Jun 2022 - 10:21:58) Thanks Editor 👍🏼🤣

Re: Hedgehogs - Russ (18th Jun 2022 - 11:16:35) Having hit and killed several dear in me lifetime jumping out from long grass on the road side it’s totally ridiculous to leave grass long beside the roads.All the grass around the verges in our village is totally out of order it’s just a money saving exercise by the council’s no benefit to wild life quite the opposite.

Re: Hedgehogs - D (18th Jun 2022 - 16:39:08) Couldn't agree more, Russ. A lot of the verges were cut last week so common sense has prevailed at last. Really disturbing some of the ideas our wonderful leaders come up with.

Re: Hedgehogs - paul (18th Jun 2022 - 22:14:20) Hi, Hedgehogs as a species have been around out Planet Earth for 15 million years. Human Beings have lived around 300,000 years in our world. Therefore our spiky friends have first rights, and we can live together.

Re: Hedgehogs - D (19th Jun 2022 - 19:40:41) Hedgehogs seem to be in decline so maybe there should be a public awareness campaign. I've already designed a t-shirt with the slogan "hug a hedgehog." Can't see no problem there.

Reply to THIS thread
Talkback Home