As an erstwhile keeper of pet hedgehogs, i can tell you that hedgehogs are remarkably resistant to chemical poisoning. They can absorb far more of most deadly substances than we can, which raises doubt about any 'poisoned food' explanation of their decline.

Pete Stanley once told me that he had an American guest years ago who was astonished to find a hedgehog, one summer's night, lapping the saucer of milk at the kitchen door which Pete had put out. Once introduced to this foreign creature, the American's immediate question was, 'Is a varmint or a critter?'

Perhaps they've all been eaten by American tourists.