There have been a few articles in UK press lately featuring the dormouse, which partly inspired me to get to work on this blog! Unfortunately, the welfare of dormice isn't getting a lot of sympathy from people who live in the local authority areas that have been spending money to protect these creatures...
On Monday 27th September, The Telegraph reported that a plan to build local houses in Tunbridge Wells had been halted, as they would be too close to an area full of hibernating dormice. It was thought that an influx of new residents would bring cats, which could decimate the species.
An independant councillor for the area, Ron Goodman, had a very unsympathetic position on the matter, stating that making a decision based on the wellfare of dormice was "all nonsense; It's crazy".
He even went as far as to say that people's lives were worth more than those of dormice. Whilst new homes are undoubtably of high importance in our ever-growing society, it is our social responsibility to find areas to build upon that do not endanger one of our native species. Thankfully, the majority of the councillors voted down the the proposed site.
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