Recycling is a good thing to do, but for one little hedgehog it resulted in a near death experience!
Tania of Hopton Castle, South Shropshire was checking her recycling box before putting it out for collection the following day. To her amazement she found a tiny hedgehog trapped in an empty cat food tin.
She immediately called her partner, Jack, who managed with great difficulty, to slowly and carefully cut the little hog free. They then contacted the British Hedgehog Preservation Society to find out what to do next.
Tinny, as she has since been named, was only 290g, hypothermic and desperate for food, being far too small to hibernate successfully. She was also found to have lungworm and fluke, both of which needed medical treatment.
She is now recuperating with a hedgehog rehabilitator after her very lucky escape. We can only imagine how many hoglets and other creatures may have perished this way
People are urged to not only wash out their used food tins, but also to crush them, thereby ensuring that this near tragic episode may not happen again.
Sadly, hedgehogs are in decline and our prickly friends now need all the help they can get. Please see the Society website at www.britishhedgehogs.org.uk for more details on how you can make small changes to assist them in their plight.
