Nature Trust welcomes Pembroke's hedgehog initiative

@ Kevin Borg - Executive Secretary
I am pleased to note that for once you have acknowledged my correspondence and taken heed of my requests/suggestions.

Its a good thing they've done these signs, I am afraid there are a lot of squashed hedgehogs on our roads which is sad, because they are such peaceful and humble creatures; but that looks like a giant rat.

please can you put a sign for hedgehog crossing near mosta gnien ta l gharuna I happend to pass from there and I saw two passing by maybe there are a colloney too over there please save them too. be careful who passm from that road pls.

"Pay attention to hedgehog"

I got a chuckle out of that .

Maybe the hedgehog can impart some driving tips or some wisdom on the animal kingdom to the driver that pays attention ;-)

whilst agreeing that this is a nice initiative, i cannot understand: why don;t we take it a step further - perhaps close the part of the road for the hedgehogs to cross whilst motorists can park nearby and walk??

With reference to all those who posted suggestions, kindly note that next week I will see that the Council will take all necessary action to replace these signs.

@ Mark Crocker
Kindly note that the Council ordered the sign, and personally, I was neither aware of the wording nor present when they were put up, although action will be taken ASAP.

It looks rather more of a beaver than our algerian hedgehog. Wording should give a hint that it is meant to alert drivers not to run over the animal. Nonetheless, a good start of what should be a national effort to save this creature which is protected by law. just that though.
Real protection has been long expected (It should be known that there exist other creatures than birds) .
Their dwindling population merits study, and efforts could be made to encourage breeding, deworming and/or re-introduction of these in areas were these can be protected- example public gardens and parks. Then definetely education and familiarisation of with to this animal. Many children believe a hedgehog is a flat animal found on road tarmac or a TV dweller.
It's help to gardeners as a means of snail eater better appreciated.

There is actually a sort of whistle which is affixed to vehilces which alert crossing animals from afar.
Then it depends much on the civil sense of us drivers to avoid these creatures whilst they are crossing.
Nature Trust have a good track record for catering for injured hedgehogs too and should thus be supported by all.

Paul Barrett.

Of course it matters that the sign is all wrong.

The idea is excellent ..... replace the signs ASAP.

Very good start. Hope other councils follow. San Martin area should have these same signs up as you see loads of these animals killed there. Good start.

Well done Pembroke Council.
It really does not matter if the picture shown is exact nor indeed if the wording is grammatically correct - the sign achieves the aim to draw the drivers attention to the possibility of these lovely animals crossing the road unexpectedly and therefore you should drive with care.

A good initiative I would say, but it is a pity that the Executive Secretary and his assistant secretaries do not know what a hedgehog looks like and lack a good command of the English language. "Drive carefully - Hedgehogs crossing" would have been more appropriate.

Well done Pembroke!!

@M. Borg,

where am i charachterizing the Maltese race? And I didn't say 'I'm all for doing my bit', I said 'I'm all for the protection of animals'. So, what you say is totally irrelevant and off topic. And let's face it, everyone reading this knows of incidents of overspeeding on residential roads! Perhaps more 'pedestrian crossing' signs are what is needed.

Now, if hedgehogs were as big as moose or kangaroo, then signs would be necessary. It's all good that there is warnings about hedgehogs, and looking at the story in more detail I guess it is good that people are aware, I just cannot see where it will contribute reducing their deaths on the road.......they're too small to see, and at night, even more difficult to see! Driving slower doesn't mean you will avoid hitting them, these creatures shoot out across the street when it's too late to do anything.

Bad bad English.
That sign should read 'Caution crossing Hedgehogs' or something of a similar nature.
Guess it's time for a couple of Hedgehog Crossings now too!
I just hope they're not painted with 'slippery when wet' 'vanishing' paint normally used for Zebra Crossings.

The only problem is that pembroke is used mostly to park cars for those that attend paceville and if the drivers have drunk a bit too much, its quite impossible that they will see them crossing the road!! but lets hope that the signs will help

@G. Attard
You manifest the worst characteristics of the Maltese race- I'm all for doing my bit, as long as it does not affect me (or preferably puts a buck in my pocket. Is travelling at night in a residential area at a low enough speed to brake safely if a hedgehog passes in front of your lights too much to ask? Then we ask why our island is a mess.....

Ha Ha Ha!

"Attent ghal-Qanfud" does not translate to "Pay Attention ..."! It is not a professor lecturing a platea! ("Pay attention to the lecture" does translate to "Attenti ghal-lezzjoni" but not the reverse).

Instead the English equivalent should be on the lines of "Attention Hedgehogs. Avoid". We cannot translate a language literally word for word. A context may be worded differently in another language. This is reminding me of the famous 'competent bodies' during the EU negotiations translated to 'igsma competenti' or something on those lines.

Good initiative (after amending the graphic)
I come across many squashed hedgehogs driving along the "arterial" road from Ghajn Tuffieha - Manikata - Mellieha.
The trick G.Attard is to drive with a lower speed enough to (yes) break or drive pass slowly around the busy hedgehog.
Ultimately however I perfectly agree with John Azzopardi that small tunnels need to be made beneath the said roads to avoid decimating further the population of hedgehogs and also avoid traffic accidents for any driver who instinctively tries to avoid killing these creatures.

"Today one still finds irresponsible motorist who seem to enjoy driving over such creatures while out at night"

I have my doubts if there are any people who ENJOY driving over hedgehogs. Tyres aren't cheap!

Protection for any animal is welcome but what poor English. This is just a lteral translation from the Maltese. Also the word hedgehog is in the singular so it really means there is just one in the area. Something like: Keep a look out for hedgehogs sounds far better.

@ G.Attard,

I cannot further agree with you Mr.Attard. While the initiative is welcoming and positive, one has to keep in mind that only drivers/motorists can make it work, we have to be responsible enough to reduce speed and slow down every time we see this sign warning sign. Additionally, many cats are hit by cars when they cross the roads so drivers or motorists are ought to be careful when driving. But other than that, congrats, it's a very good idea!

a very well done to pembroke LC!!!


finally someone is trying to do something for those creatures!

I'm all for the protection of animals, both great and small, but COME ON!, a road sign warning drivers of crossing hedgehogs??? Might as well put one on every street corner in the country warning drivers of cats running across the road!

Does one think that a motorist driving down a one lane road is acutally going to swerve onto another lane to avoid hitting one and risk becoming roadkill themself? Or brake and let the hedgehog pass?

It's a nice thought it really is, but this is almost comical. I respect the authorities involved for putting out awarness, but I don't think this is going to solve the matter. This island is too congested with traffic to avoid these incidents from happening.

The initiative is highly commendable. However, wildlife crossings in the form of tunnels, underpasses, overpasses, ecoducts, wildlife bridges and other forms of safe passage have been in use in advanced countries such as France, The Netherlands, Germany, and Switzerland since at least the 1950s. All these passage ways help wildlife negotiate safely the roadway which has become a barrier in their habitat. Road signs will help, but a lot more is needed, especially at planning stage.

EVERY INITIATIVE taken to protect animal life is to be praised, because we need a lot of it, here in Malta. However, Pembroke would also do well to protect cats and dogs that roam its streets, and reduce animal cruelty in the area.

Well done for this positive intiative. It's a pity that the picture on the road sign is not a hedgehog! That's a porcupine and we do not have such animals in Malta. If you type "porcupine graphic" in google pictures it is the fifth entry that comes up:) Dear local council secretary, next time type "hedgehog graphic":)

A great initiative on the part of Nature trust, as it is truely a sorry sight to see these poor creatures squashed in the middle of the road.
The wording used on the signage is a bit strange though... Pay attention to the hedgehogs? A direct translation from the Maltese language? "Caution - Hedgehogs crossing next 1km" etc would have hbeen much better! None the less, well done.