Hedgehog rescue centre needs the help of townsfolk (From Bromsgrove Advertiser)

Hedgehog rescue centre needs the help of townsfolk

4:10pm Tuesday 26th February 2013 in News

A BROMSGROVE rescue centre for hedgehogs is offering town residents the chance to get involved with its work.

Willows Hedgehog Rescue work to rescue, rehabilitate and release hedgehogs that get into trouble.

As hedgehog numbers have been in serious decline the rescue centre has been working to raise awareness of the plight of the prickly creatures.

In 2012, the centre rescued more than 200 hedgehogs and hoglets, found suffering from starvation and illness due to a very wet year, reduced preferable food sources, and an explosion of slugs which carry a parasite that causes lungworm and pneumonia.

This year the centre’s staff are stepping up their efforts in building up a picture of the hedgehog population of the area.

They are appealing to townsfolk to record as many hedgehog sightings as possible, whether alive or dead, in gardens or around the town.

Jayne Lawrence from the centre explained: “This will allow us to build up a picture of hedgehog populations, helping to understand the population status, pin pointing good areas and poor areas.

“This will help when identifying release sites and will allow research into why hedgehogs are absent from areas.”

Willows are planning to put monitoring devices in these habitats, and to carry out research in areas found particularly active.

The team are also encouraging people to change the way they look at their garden, making them more hedgehog-friendly.

To get involved with the hedgehog sightings project people are asked to write their name, the postcode and road name of where the hedgehogs were seen, how many were spotted and alive or dead, and the date and time of the sighting, and email this information to willowshedgehog@hotmail.co.uk.

Staff from the rescue centre also visit schools and groups to talk about their work and offer advice. Anyone interested is asked to email the same address.

For more details visit littlehistories.co.uk/hedgehogsindecline.