Yesterday was exceptionally busy with 5 hedgehogs arriving with us before 10.30am.
Later in the day we received a phone call from a lady who was driving through Hamworthy. While driving past the fire station she noticed a hedgehog laying on the ground with blood around it’s head. She mentioned being disillusioned that so many people were walking and driving past and none of them stopped to help the hedgehog. That was very distressing for her so she did what was needed and stopped to pick him up and phoned us right away.
As you can see from the photos he is absolutely covered in white household gloss paint. This is a dangerous practice that some people do – and as a result it has caused this juvenile hedgehog to lose his natural camouflage. This means he is now far more visible to predators putting his life at risk. We see this sort of thing all the time and it is completely unacceptable 😠
He has bite marks around his face and head and a large infected wound on his lower jaw which has now developed into an abscess. It is incredibly painful for him, leaving him unable to eat properly – and all this is likely the result of being painted making him more visible while he is simply going about his business!!
Thank you so much to Tanya for picking him up and getting him to us so quickly. He is now receiving the care and pain relief he so desperately needs.
Please do not paint or mark wild animals. You are putting their life at risk – and if you see wildlife that needs help please don’t leave it on the ground and assume someone else will help it. Time is critical when wildlife is sick or injured. Minutes matter and could mean the difference between life and death 😢
If you would like to support the work we do please follow the links below where you can donate online, or purchase items from our wish list. THANK YOU ❤
Donate as a single payment or a regular monthly donation here- https://dorsethedgehogrescue.org/regular-donations/
Amazon wish list – Amazon.co.uk
