DOC's work with hedgehogs
Hedgehog proof fence
Skinks, insects, beetles and birds in peril
"Hedgehogs are chomping their way through native wildlife, and the public needs to stop seeing them as cute, harmless garden visitors." - DOC spokeswoman Nic Vallance.
The Department of Conservation has known of the impact of hedgehogs for some years, with time-lapse video footage providing evidence of their direct predation on ground-nesting birds in braided river systems.
As a result, many ground-set trapping programmes in open country like Central Otago; braided river systems in South Canterbury; or forest ecosystems all over the North Island; will have hedgehogs as part of their catch. This will help protect animals as diverse as kaki/black stilt; Cromwell chafer beetle; Grand skink; black-fronted tern; and weta.
In mid-2009, DOC included hedgehogs in a pest eradication programme on Rangitoto and Motutapu Islands in the Hauraki Gulf.