Welcome to Wyre Forest
Hedgehog Rescue, a small self funded voluntary organisation
dedicated to the rescue, care and rehabilitation of our prickly
friends.
Statistics
show that the hedgehogs of Britain are dying out. According to
latest Government ‘British Mammals Report’ Hedgehogs face extinction
within fifteen years. We have always had a passion for hedgehogs.
For
years we have fed them and watched them in our garden. As our
interest grew we decided to take this 'hobby' a step further and
looked into caring for sick and injured hedgehogs ourselves. We
contacted the British Hedgehog Preservation
Society and we were added to their national carers list, with lots of support
and advice from other carers, & Kay Bullen at The Hedgehog
Helpline we formed our own organisation, Wyre Forest Hedgehog Rescue
based in Kidderminster, Worcs.
Hedgehogs should not be out during the day. If you find a sick or injured hedgehog, it is
essential to keep it warm. If possible put it in a high sided box,
wrap it in a towel, please do not use hay or straw, and put it on a warm water bottle (not hot), If there
are any signs of fly eggs or maggots on it don't use heat, then
contact your local rescue centre or carer as soon as possible.
Please do
not watch the hedgehog for days in your garden it needs help
straight away. In most cases sick hedgehogs will require fluids and specialist care,
once fit and well you can always offer to have the hedgehog back. If
you cannot get through to a carer straight away then the hedgehog
should be taken to your local vet, they should give basic emergency
treatment.
Often by the time
a hedgehog finds its way to us it will be very ill, lots of time and
effort will be needed to help the hedgehog recover. We provide
rehabilitation and pay for veterinary care with the aim of releasing
all hedgehogs back into the wild once they are well enough to fend
for themselves. When a hedgehog is not able to return to the wild,
a secure garden will be found where the hedgehog can lead as natural
a life as possible.
As
we receive no funding and due
to the costs involved,
we needed to expand
our efforts so that we could take in more casualties
and orphans. We attend & fundraise at various local events
and car boot sales and also give illustrated awareness talks to
schools etc to cover the costs of food, veterinary treatment
and housing. The majority of hedgehogs that come in will
require at least one trip to the vet, some will need long term
treatment. Looking after hedgehogs can be costly, we can go
through many tins of dog/cat food and biscuits in a week! Last year alone we helped and cared for
many hedgehogs,
over 70% were successfully re- released back into the wild.
Unfortunately, some were so badly injured they were put to sleep by
our vet as to end their suffering. Others which came in were so
poorly no matter what treatment they received they would not respond
and sadly gave up.
There are many issues which
are contributing to the decline of the hedgehog population. A large
proportion of people are removing hedges & bushes and generally
tidying their gardens which is detrimental to the hedgehog
population as it removes the shelter where they would otherwise have
nested. If possible, please try to leave an untidy area tucked away
in your garden which can be used for hibernation hideaways. Also the
use of gravel boards with fencing has stopped the hedgehogs moving
from garden to garden in search of food. Most hedgehogs will travel
between 12 gardens per night! ( please leave a small hole 5" so they
can gain access). There has also been a substantial increase in the
number of pesticides, slug pellets and rat poisons used to control vermin in urban
areas. Injuries caused by Strimmers, Mowers, Garden Forks, Bonfires
and discarded Netting
and Litter, and of course Badgers, Foxes and Dogs. Hedgehogs are
good swimmers but do need an escape route out of ponds and other
water features. Probably the most important of all though is food
and water. With the winter seasons getting milder, hedgehogs are
having late litters and not hibernating until much later.
Unfortunately much of the food sources have gone by the winter
months and the young will never be able to put on enough weight to
survive. A simple hedgehog house and a regular supply of food and
water in your garden will certainly postpone the extinction of these
wonderful creatures.
To
contact your local carer, there is a list on the British Hedgehog Preservation Society's website
http://www.britishhedgehogs.org.uk/
Please note at this present time due to
the amount of hedgehogs in my care and work commitments, I'm sorry but I'm unable to take
in anymore from outside the Wyre Forest area, July 2010.
A hedgehog fact sheet can
be downloaded from Hog Watch by clicking
here.
Please think before using
Netting !
In the last 10 days I've had three hedgehogs in who have been
tangled in netting/wire. All of these hedgehogs had back legs
missing/broken and were so badly infected both were put to sleep. Please if
you are using netting put it a foot off the ground so hedgehogs can
walk underneath it and not get tangled. Sorry these photos are
upsetting but you need to see what injuries are caused..JPG)
Hedgehogs facing critical times
This year I am seeing a big increase in
dehydrated, emaciated and orphan hedgehogs coming into care, they
have been finding it hard especially when we had hot dry conditions, they couldn't dig for
their natural food as the ground was rock hard, please offer
meat based cat or dog food in jelly( not fish flavoured), cat/kitten biscuits and
a dish of water,
these can be a life saver and will help
replace the weight they lost.
Never feed Bread or Milk to a Hedgehog.
Can you help?
Release sites wanted for hedgehogs, can you supply a nest box, food
and water everyday and already have hedgehogs in your area if so
please get in touch, ( Kidderminster, Stourport and Bewdley areas )
we carry out home checks to make sure the garden/habitat is suitable,
thanks
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