Save the hedgehogs: Here's why an East Yorkshire woman single-handedly started her own hedgehog rescue

When Ms Pickering retired she decided to follow her passion for animals, travelling to work with orangutans in Borneo and the ‘big five’ (lion, elephant, buffalo, rhinoceros and leopard) at the South Africa Game Reserve. Upon returning to the UK she was given two hedgehogs to look after over winter. Ms Pickering said “That was the start, and I have never stopped since.”

Ms Pickering said: “First of all, I talked to my local vets to see if they were prepared to work with me, as well as the RSPCA. I wouldn’t be able to do this without the help and support from our local vets and the RSPCA.

“Then I went on a wildlife course at Vale Wildlife Hospital and Rehabilitation Centre which taught me how to look after hedgehogs, how to do their medications etc. I started with two and it just gradually built up from there.

“I have taken on volunteers from the local area to help me, because I can’t do it all on my own.

“We have a young lass who has started doing weekends with us, she is only twelve and her dad introduced her to us because she is just desperate to be a vet. We already had a young lady who helped me in the beginning who is now at Veterinary college!

“This time of the year we get mum and baby hedgehogs coming in- the busiest time for babies is June and July and then September and October too because sometimes mums have a second brood.

“The population has not been doing well, and the hedgehogs from the countryside are now moving into suburbia. It is safer for them because unfortunately a lot of the hedges were taken away- I know they are slowly being reintroduced but it will take a while for the hedgehogs to go back.

“In addition, the farming industry is using such big machines, they cannot possibly see a hedgehog when they are cutting.

“Climate change is also having a big effect, one minute we have drought and the next minute it is really wet- and hedgehogs do not cope with that very well.

“During a drought, unless people put lots of water out there is nothing for them to drink, their food intake is low because there aren’t the beetles and worms about for them to eat. The next minute it is wet, they are wet through and their little bodies can’t cope with it.

“A lot of people do not realise that the netting they put on their fruit trees and fruit bushes can cause hedgehogs' prickles to get caught and keep them stuck.

“Plus people using strimmers in their garden cause a lot of accidents, because people do not check when they are cutting down long grass before they cut. We get them with their spikes all sliced on the top of their heads, missing legs- all sorts of nasty things I am afraid.

“We always ask people to put netting about five cm above the ground so that hedgehogs can fit underneath.

“We are also plugging a lot for hedgehog streets, so that people who have fences or walls around their garden make a CD size hole in them so that they can go from garden to garden rather than onto the roads.

“Pesticides in their gardens can be dangerous-hedgehogs will die from ingesting it through their food or walking in the grass if not seen quick enough.

“We recommend that you feed hedgehogs kitten food- if you have cats at home we suggest dried food rather than the wet, as it doesn’t attract the cats as much. Definitely don't put out milk or bread, but please leave out plenty of water.

“Hedgehog houses are good, but don’t buy the igloo ones. They are made from wire and unfortunately their spines get caught on the wire, so they can’t get out.

“If you see a hedgehog out in the day, moving slowly or not moving at all- usually it is in trouble. We need to know and we will try and rescue them.

“Over the last three years people have become more aware and are more observant. It is gradual, but it will take years for the population to increase back to what it was 20 years ago.”

Please call 07717552624 if a hedgehog needs assistance, and visit https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100076951608741 to find out more.