The UK environment secretary, Tanya Caffey, has caused quite the stir after announcing that the ambitious hedgehog plan for England was actually just a typo.
Back in January, environmental groups were ecstatic when Caffey revealed the government’s “Environmental Improvement Plan” which included plans to plant 30,000 miles of new hedgehogs a year by 2037, and a whopping 45,000 a year by 2050.
However, it turns out that this was all just a case of fat fingers on the keyboard, and in actual fact, the plan was to plant new hedgerows, not hedgehogs.
The news has left campaigners feeling disappointed, with one stating, “We were really looking forward to seeing thousands of little hedgehogs running around, but I guess we’ll have to settle for hedges instead.”
Caffey has since apologised for the error, stating that she was “just really tired that day,” but not everyone is convinced. One commentator joked, “I guess this is just further proof that the government really doesn’t have a clue what it’s doing when it comes to the environment.”
In the meantime, wildlife enthusiasts are left wondering what could have been, had the UK government actually meant to plant 45,000 hedgehogs per year. Maybe next time, Tanya. Maybe next time.
