Hedgehog rescue rewards escape clutches of the Inland Revenue

Volunteers who are paid 20 for handing in the animals for relocation feared some of the bounty might also be redirected by the taxman.

However, the Inland Revenue has now told the rescuers in the Western Isles that their reward is not taxable.

Animal welfare groups who have been paying out the rewards say the fears were raised due to "mischief making" but that the issue has now been resolved.

Kay Bullen, of Uist Hedgehog Rescue, said: "It’s true that the Inland Revenue started to take an interest in the money we are paying out in rewards for hedgehogs handed in by the public.

"We don’t know whether someone drew their attention to what we were doing or they picked it up from all the publicity in the newspapers. They did not get in touch with us directly but we heard of their interest and Advocates for Animals got in touch and explained what we were doing.

"Apparently, because it’s a reward, it is not taxable and those receiving it do not have to declare it. If they were working for us and we gave them a reward it would be taxable."

So far the rescuers have recovered 120 hedgehogs, with the 20 reward being paid out on 89 occasions.

Ross Minett, a director of Advocates for Animals, said:

"Our giving 20 cash rewards is like a member of the public finding a wallet and being given a reward for handing it in. We have no tax issues and they have no tax issues.

"I think basically someone was trying to cause a bit of trouble but hopefully it was not someone trying to interfere with our rescue efforts."

The cull sparked controversy when it started last year in North Uist and 66 of the estimated 90-strong hedgehog population were caught and given a lethal injection.

Animal rights groups caught 150 of the non-native animals themselves in different parts of the Western Isles and moved them to the mainland. Volunteers who handed in animals were then paid 5.

The cull, which aims to eradicate the 5,000-strong hedgehog population from the islands, restarted last month after Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) agreed it was necessary to protect declining populations of native birds.

The cull involves 13 trappers, recruited by the partnership in the Uist Wader Project, hunting for the hedgehogs as they emerge from winter hibernation.

So far 139 have been caught and given a lethal injection. George Anderson, SNH’s spokesman, said: "We are pleased with progress. So far we have only searched Benbecula but will shortly be revisiting North Uist, where we worked last year."

The cost of last year's work, which included the cull and research on the birds, was 90,000. The budget for this year was capped by the SNH board at 186,475.

Rescuers are joining forces with Bristol University to carry out a study into relocating the hedgehogs to areas where the animals already live. However SNH insists a cull is the most humane way of dealing with the creatures.

The islands support some of the most important populations of breeding waders in the British Isles, such as dunlin, redshank and oystercatcher.