Government moves forward with expensive solution after beloved creatures started causing trouble: 'Extremely damaging impact'

Scotland faces a unique situation in which an adorable and beloved animal — the hedgehog — is endangered on the mainland but invasive on the island of Benbecula in the Uist region. To help with both problems, the Scottish government has allocated £97,840 (just over $131,000) for relocating the animals.

According to The Scotsman, hedgehogs were introduced to the island over 50 years ago to help control garden pests. Unfortunately, they didn't restrict themselves to the garden. Instead of just eating slugs and other pests, they started stealing eggs and chicks from ground-nesting birds in the wild.

Today, 55% of these birds' nests fail, with hedgehogs being a major factor. Affected species include the dunlin, common ringed plover, common redshank, common snipe, northern lapwing, oystercatcher, and little tern, all of which are declining.

"The evidence is clear that introduced hedgehogs are having an extremely damaging impact on native wading birds and other wildlife on Uist," said Iain Macleod, NatureScot's operations manager for West Scotland, per The Scotsman.

This is a common problem when a new species is introduced to an unfamiliar area. It can end up becoming invasive and damaging the populations of native prey animals.

The original proposal to stop the destruction was to cull the hedgehog population. However, that plan proved extremely unpopular and led to public outcry.

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The new approach is to relocate hedgehogs from Benbecula to the mainland while monitoring to make sure that they don't disrupt the mainland population.

This is part of the larger Saving Uist Nature project, a collaboration between RSPB Scotland, NatureScot, and the Scottish SPCA. It also arises from a history of relocating hedgehogs in the area since 2001, an effort that has resulted in the rescue of 2,441 animals so far.

"This project is responding to a unique situation where a species of conservation concern that is native to the U.K. mainland is invasive on Uist, and its presence has led to declines in important bird populations," said Kenna Chisholm, north Highland and the Hebrides area manager for RSPB Scotland.

"Taking action is critical to protect remarkable wildlife here in Uist and ensure the best possible outcomes for the hedgehogs, which will be relocated and the mainland population," Chisholm added.