Conservation: European hedgehog (𝘌𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘶𝘴 𝘦𝘶𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘢𝘦𝘶𝘴), or 𝘈𝘯 𝘎𝘳á𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘰𝘨 in Irish. Though it is unknown whether they are native to Ireland, their population is considered stable in mainland Europe. In Great Britain however, their numbers are dwindling. This was largely due to a number of bounties put on them such as the Preservation of Grain Act in 1532. It was believed that hedgehogs were detrimental to crops and milk production, and to protect their agricultural interests, the British Crown installed a bounty of three pennies. On top of this, hedgehogs have strong associations with witchcraft, and were often believed to be a witch’s familiar or the witches themselves, transformed into a small unsuspecting spy. As the belief in witches was still very strong, the church imposed their own bounty on top of the existing one. Villages would suffer fines for not killing enough wildlife, leading to half a million hedgehog bounties collected. While these laws were repealed in the mid 18th century, their population has not yet recovered.
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