6. What assessment has the Cabinet Secretary made of The State of Britain's Hedgehogs Report 2018? OAQ51754

Thank you. The continued decline in hedgehog numbers in rural areas in the UK, as highlighted in the report, should concern us all. The findings will inform the refresh of the nature recovery action plan to ensure that we all take appropriate action to help our most endangered species, including the hedgehog.

I'm sure you will be aware that the Farmers Union of Wales released a statement in response to the report that said that conservation bodies were burying their heads in the sand as far as the impact of badgers on hedgehog numbers is concerned. I can't help but wonder if that is a politically motivated statement aimed at justifying a badger cull. The FUW didn't feel that the lion's share of the blame for the reduction in hedgehog numbers should be placed on farming practices, despite a wealth of research showing that agriculture and land management have the biggest single impact on wildlife, with 84 per cent of land in Wales being used for agriculture. Cabinet Secretary, can I ask for you to look at and assess the implications of this statement from the Farmers Union of Wales, which firmly blames badgers for the decline, and also to look at implementing the changes, as requested by conservation organisations, which clearly mention pesticides?

I don't agree with the FUW claims. Certainly, when you read the report, I don't think that's what leaps out at you. When you read the report, it notes a number of reasons for why hedgehogs are scarcer in rural areas, and that includes the intensification of agriculture, habitat loss, fragmentation, roadkill, as well as predation. Badgers are a natural predator of hedgehogs, and they actively avoid sites where badgers are present in very high numbers. And I think also the report states that they can co-exist—you know, badgers and hedgehogs can co-exist in many areas. So, I think we need to have a better understanding of the habitat.

Cabinet Secretary, I'm glad that Joyce Watson has asked this question. This is an excellent report; well worth the read. I learnt a few things, such as that hedgehogs are hibernating between November and mid-March, so we're currently in a period of that hibernation—what was that about AMs? [Laughter.] I was particularly interested in the Big Hedgehog Map, which allows people to log their hedgehog sighting online, to contribute to research into the animal. I noticed that, in Usk, in my constituency, there are only eight hedgehog sightings. So, hopefully, that will increase with this map.

I know that they get some national and European protection, but what are you doing to publicise campaigns such as the Big Hedgehog Map, so that we can understand a bit more about this animal and protected more in future?

I think it is very helpful. I haven't actually publicised this, so I, too, am very pleased that Joyce Watson has asked this question today.

I also think that reports such as this will help, post Brexit, when we're looking at our programmes and at how we're going to boost biodiversity, for instance. So, I'm very happy to support this report.

As the hedgehog species champion, I welcome—[Interruption.] I'm very encouraged by the interest of other Members in our prickly friends. [Laughter.]

I was concerned to read in the report by the Hedgehog Preservation Society of the decline of hedgehogs in rural areas, particularly aligned to the use of pesticides. Would the Minister agree that the use of big data and artificial intelligence does offer us the opportunity to help in this area? By using the latest precision agriculture techniques, we can specifically calibrate the amount of chemicals required in the cultivation of land and reduce the amount of chemicals put into the soil, which will have a knock-on benefit effect for hedgehogs. Given that the National Assembly has voted for the Government to come forward with the strategy on precision agriculture, can the Minister update us on the progress, please?

Thank you. Lee Waters is certainly the hedgehog champion. I hope you remember that you were actually the second choice, and I was the first, but I decided to be a champion for all species. [Laughter.] But you're also a great champion of precision agriculture, too, and frequently bombard me with a lot of very good research that you've done in this area.

We came forward with an idea that we wouldn't have a specific strategy, but there is clearly a huge amount of work that we can do in relation to precision agriculture, and certainly our policy is to reduce to the lowest possible level the effect of pesticide use on people, wildlife and plants, so I think precision agriculture absolutely can be used in this way. Again, post Brexit, as we're coming forward with our future farming policy and all our other environmental policies, I think precision agriculture will really help us. 

Cabinet Secretary, the facts in the report are very, very clear, and that is things like habitat loss and intensive farming are the primary cause of the fall. Incidentally, my species is the Tonyrefail falcon—that's another matter.

Could I just say—? One of the things that concerns me, though, that arises from the FUW statement, is the fact that there's an attempt to almost weaponise hedgehogs to make them to blame for their losses as a result of badgers; so, using one species as a mechanism for trying to attack another species, and so on, and our position has got to lead to a cull of badgers and also to the protection of hedgehogs themselves. This sort of divide-and-rule approach is really just not acceptable.

Yes, I think I've more or less answered your question in my answer to Joyce Watson. Clearly, the report, I think, states very clearly why hedgehogs are scarcer in rural areas, and it's not just due to one particular reason. I gave several reasons around habitat loss, the intensification of agriculture, for instance, and also road kill. So, I think it is very important that everybody looks at this report as a whole, and certainly I do disagree with what the FUW have claimed here.