Introduction to the Hedgehog Helpline
The Hedgehog Helpline began in 1988 and became a registered charity in
1995. It takes in sick, injured and orphaned hedgehogs with the intention of returning
them to the wild once they are fully recovered and able to survive in the wild. All the
advice is aimed at the European Hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus) in the UK. Other
countries may have different legislation or even different species of hedgehog for which
our advice is not always appropriate.
The Hedgehog Helpline does not receive any funding and has to rely on
the generosity of the general public, those who bring hedgehog casualties and our own fund
raising efforts. We also have a newsletter called HOGLET.
Its aims are to provide
- Free advice on hedgehog matters - for example how to encourage them into your garden,
how to make your garden safer and how to offer basic first aid and care.
- Nursing - we care for sick, weak, injured and orphaned hedgehogs, so that they can be
returned to the wild.
- General information - we give local talks about our work and can provide leaflets to
anyone interested in hedgehogs. We also share our information on nursing techniques with
other Hedgehog Carers in the UK.
In
2001 we received around 544 hedgehog casualties plus a few other wild birds
and mammals. We also gave advice on the telephone about a further 1099 hedgehogs
and a number relating to other wild birds and mammals. In addition we
gave talks to 41 different groups of adults and youngsters. The number of
talks given was well down on previous years because of the foot and
mouth restrictions.
We are a very small organisation with very few volunteers but we do the best we can and
no hedgehog casualty is turned away.
Please remember that we, and most other hedgehog carers, are unpaid volunteers and we
may also have our own jobs, families and homes to run. If you cannot get hold of us we are
probably out doing "hedgehog" work or household shopping or our full time jobs.
Please be patient and only ring late at night if there is an urgent problem.
Contacting other Carers
We have a list of other carers in the UK who take in hedgehogs (and other species) and
there are also other web sites with contacts. Unfortunately these numbers often change so
it is difficult to keep any list up to date. We can be contacted by telephone for a local
number or try accessing the following sites mentioned on our homepage.
The following site has a directory of other Hedgehog re-habilitators :-
The Welsh Hedgehog Hospital http://www.whh.org/links/local_help/default.htm
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