Rescue centres see rise in malnourished hedgehogs

Rescue centres say they are dealing with a large increase in malnourished hedgehogs, with more expected over the winter.

The summer heat and drought made it very hard for the animals to find their natural prey such as slugs and earthworms, with young hoglets particularly vulnerable.

Hedgehog Rescue in Chipping Sodbury, near Bristol is looking for more volunteers and donations to help the hedgehogs it rescues across South Gloucestershire, Bristol and Bath.

Tracey Boden, who runs the centre, said: "We are seeing so many baby hedgehogs that are so thin, dehydrated and malnourished. I have been running the centre for 13 years and I have never seen it so bad."

Boden said they were looking after 45 hedgehogs, with their usual capacity at 35.

"We really are worried about them being able to keep going over the winter months. If it stays a mild winter many hedgehogs don't even bother to hibernate and will carry on looking for food," Boden added.

An RSPCA rescue centre in Somerset has made an urgent plea for shredded paper to use as bedding, after seeing an increase in hedgehogs in need of help.

Tina Huntington, wildlife supervisor at the RSPCA West Hatch, said they have seen a 22% increase in hedgehog admissions this summer compared to previous years.

"The crazy hot summer we've had this year has meant the ground is really rock solid, which means hedgehogs are struggling to get food this summer," Huntington said.

"Their normal source of food, earth worms and slugs, they're not able to get much this year."

Fay Vess, CEO at the British Hedgehog Preservation Society, said: "We know this time is always a very hectic and busy time for rescues. There's lots of babies being found and they need help or they aren't going to make it through hibernation period."

Vess added that for people with gardens, it helps to leave leaf piles undisturbed and provide water bowls.

"If someone finds a hedgehog in need of help, warning signs can be they're out in the day, they're wobbling and struggling to walk properly. In all of those cases they would need some help," Voss said.

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