Amazing Grace Launch in Parliament
Amazing Grace Campaign Starts in the Heart of Government with Incredible Support.
On Tuesday 26th April 2016, Brian and Anne launched a joint campaign to save Britain’s hedgehogs in Portcullis House, London. The campaign is called Amazing Grace in honour of Grace a rescue hedgehog that came into Harper Asprey Wildlife Rescue in the autumn of 2015, underweight and suffering from ‘fly-strike’ in a deep wound to her neck.
The UK’s hedgehogs are in trouble. Our hedgehog population has dropped dramatically from 35 million to less than a million in the last forty years. We want to highlight the dangers faced by hedgehogs in Britain today and the threat of how they could be extinct by 2025 – that’s less than 10 years – unless we can help them.
Along with singer and actress Kerry Ellis , Brian performed a stirring and emotional version of “Amazing Grace’; the traditional 18th-century hymn.
Peter Egan, Marc the Vet along with wildlife advocates from Conservative, Labour, Lib-Dem, Green and SNP MP’s listened to Anne Brummer explain why our hedgehogs are in such a serious decline. Fay Vass, CEO of the British Hedgehog Preservation Society, was on hand with some expert advice. Celebrity guests and MPs enjoyed our special vegan ‘Hoggy’ cupcakes and were given a unique flyer full of hedgehog friendly tips and a 4 inch (25cm) square – the size of the hole required in your garden fence to allow Grace and her friends access through.
We have seen a worrying decline in hedgehogs over recent years. We have to raise awareness of the challenges that Grace and her fellow hedgehogs face, there are simple changes that you can make to your garden to become “Grace friendly”.
Wouldn’t it be great if Surrey Heath became the first ‘hedgehog-friendly’ borough in England? Surrey Heath’s open spaces and gardens were once full of our ‘spiky’ friends but now they are rarely seen or heard. We are getting Councils, landowners and the gardening public to make a few simple changes that dream could become a reality.
How shocking that hedgehogs are in danger of extinction in this country. We have destroyed most of the hogs’ habitat by over development and ruined what’s left with poisons and restrictions on their movement.
Grace is the star of the new campaign. She came to Harper Asprey Wildlife Rescue underweight and suffering from ‘fly-strike’ in a large wound on her neck. She made a full recovery whilst in their care and became the star of the new campaign and features in the video that highlights some of the hazards that hedgehogs face today in the UK.
The launch event in London’s Portcullis House was attended by MPs and celebrities including Sir David Ames, Tracey Crouch, Andrea Jenkyns, Sir Roger Gale, Oliver Colevile, Kerry McCarthy, Baroness Bonham Carter to name but a few all joined in to support Grace and her friends.
