How well do you know your local rescue?
by Gill Dixon PGCE,MA,BHScHons,RGN
People are often surprised to hear that hedgehog rescues are completely unregulated. No mandatory training is required and currently no mandatory inspections take place (although there are plans afoot for council led inspections and licencing to become a necessary requirement), and a supporting vet should surely want o take even a cursory glance around any establishment he or she is supporting. Mine certainly did.
Currently ANYONE can put up a sign and open a rescue.There is though so much more to it than simply loving hedgehogs. It is a huge and relentless undertaking and should be carefully considered.
Hedgehogs are a very specialist species, our only indigenous spikey animal with a fantastic musculature and anatomy allowing them to move at speed and to curl into an impenetrable ball in times of need. There is an interesting dichotomy in their survival though as they are regularly voted Britain's favourite creature, whilst being the one that is experiencing a spectacular decline usually as a result of human intervention. (Wembridge, D et al 2022) . Veterinarians currently have no mandatory training for wildlife and so it may beyond their capabilities to offer more than first aid (this is not always the case). A good rescue will have a productive relationship with their vet and indeed must technically work under the supervision of a vet.
I run Pricklington Palace Hedgehog rescue in rural East Yorkshire, which was officially opened in 2017 after a rescue that was closing put out a plea for people to consider opening replacement rescues. As a retired nurse, with a longstanding friendship with my then vet I thought why not? I have always loved and respected nature and animals, and have spent my entire life surrounded by a variety of species. I now live on a smallholding and am lucky enough to have 2 acres devoted to wildlife, with planting, features, a large wildlife pond, bird and bat boxes, hedgehog highways and wildflower meadows. I spend much of my time promoting care of the wild and advising how people can make a real difference to their patch. I strongly believe that we can re wild our country garden by garden, village by village and town by town. I have worked with developers, businesses and individuals in the promotion of wildscapes. I feel very deeply about what is happening to our planet. The decline of hedgehogs is part of that. They are an indicator species, a barometer of how well we are doing in our natural world. We are not doing well currently.
Hedgehogs are a beleaguered species, much of their habitat lost to development and many hazards put in their paths unwittingly by humans. Rescues are in short supply and it can be very frustrating for members of the public to find a rescue with space to admit another sick animal. When a member of the public happens upon a sick or injured hedgehog they are usually very keen to get it to a rescue but which rescue to choose? The answer is usually the nearest, or the one with a space.
We wouldn't do this with a domestic pet. We would research and ask and query the credentials of the practice before letting them loose on our beloved pets. For wild animals the same concern doesn't currently apply. People simply assume that the rescuer knows exactly what they are doing. But is this always the case?
I think people will be surprised to know that hedgehog rescuing is a pretty divisive arena, with lots of disquiet amongst rescuers themselves. I am lucky to be part of a consortium of rescuers who regularly talk, share and support each others work. It is a model I can highly recommend to others. I manage a team of foster carers who can take on animals who have been stabilised.
Yorkshire rescues are also lucky enough to have a website dedicated to them which was set up by a rescuer in Micklefield and which has been an enormous help to us all. www.yorkshirehedgehogs.co.uk
The welfare of wild animals is depressingly low in any political or economic arena. Vets do not get any remuneration for treating them (they are very busy people who are often under resourced), rescues get no funding, but have to pay for treatments, and rescuers devote hours and hours of their time on a purely voluntary basis. It is system open to abuse, both in a physical and financial sense, and I really wish it wasn't so.
So why does a member of the public accept any rescue?
This may be for a number of reasons..
- Ignorance...a blind belief that all rescues are good rescues.
- Space availability. Rescues are often full to the brim.
- Recommendation from a friend or on social media.
- A mad search for someone who will take responsibility for the ailing animal.
- Desperation.
In the five years of running a rescue I have witnessed ways in which some rescues bypass even the most basic of requirements.
I am heartened to see some excellent practice in and around my area and further afield, but I have also been made aware of practice that falls very short of good and could even be construed as cruel. This may be due to ignorance on behalf of the rescuer, an inability to turn anything away until the rescuer simply cannot care for the huge number in their premises, greed (yes hedgehogs can and do generate monetary donations), or simply a lack of knowledge and skills.
I witness newspaper reports talking of 'wonderful' pensioners with 500 hedgehogs in their care, members of the public applauding a rescuer who puts aside their own ailments to care for sick hedgehogs. People applauding martyr type behaviour. This should not be happening.
It can NEVER be good to have 500 hedgehogs in one premises unless there is the space, staff and resources to care for 500 animals appropriately. Rescuers who stay up night and day are not martyrs, they are usually ill informed. One cannot tend to the needs of acutely ill animals with no sleep.
Some rescuers take on the role to fill a hole in their own psyche, a need to be needed perhaps, or a role that gives them a feel good factor. This should not be happening.
The truth is that those that close their doors when they have reached their limits (be that in time, energy or space) are in my opinion the responsible ones.
It is extremely important to know ones limitations and to always put the welfare of the animals at the forefront of any decision making.
In the last five years I have honestly lost sleep after being sent pictures of hedgehogs piled up in peoples lounges in plastic containers. Dirty pens with ten or more hoglets in, disabled female hedgehogs forced to mate by being enclosed in a hutch with a male. Hedgehogs being passed around to visitors desperate to hold and pet them. Hedgehogs kept in small hutches from November to May 'because its cold' outside, hedgehogs kept alive well after the time it is kind to do so., and hedgehogs transported to stately homes hundreds of miles away from their natural territory which is so very wrong on many levels.These are wild nomadic animals, hard wired to be wild, they do not want to be handled or be at the mercy of ill placed anthropomorphism. Our role is to interfere with them as little as possible, to rehabilitate them and set them free in their familiar surroundings as soon as we can safely do so.
In sharp contrast to these horror stories, I witness some excellent and selfless individuals who constantly put the animals at the top of the agenda and work tirelessly with real expertise to help these beleaguered little mammals.
Rehabilitating wild animals is not for the faint hearted. hedgehogs are nocturnal and so by the time they are found out in the day they are usually quite poorly. Many die despite our best efforts. It is relentless, 365 days a year and often very long days meaning that individuals have to turn down family gatherings, holidays or day trips. The public have high expectations of their rescue centres 'staff' never questioning what other demands a person is responding too. I have one member of staff. Me.
As well as the animals we may manage volunteers, foster carers, a rota of help, a phone line, accounts and stock taking and many calls for fundraising, giving talks, writing articles or advice.
If people cant reach me on my dedicated hedgehog phone line (which always sign posts people to other rescues), they message, or WhatsApp, or Facebook or email me or simply deposit the sick animal on my doorstep. I don't wear a little blue cape though, I am not a superhero, I am a human doing her very best amongst many other demands to make a difference to the success of this species.
Hedgehogs are afforded very little protection and once in a rescue it seems impossible to get any organisation to take concerns or complaints against a fellow rescuer seriously.
People keep them in bird cages, plastic troughs, free roaming in their houses and there seems to be absolutely no recourse.
Once captured (and they are far too easy to interfere with) they seem to exist under the radar of any organisation concerned with animal welfare. It is exasperating and quite literally heartbreaking.
All in all the hedgehog rehabilitation world has at times, brought me to my knees. and I feel powerless to make a real difference to their welfare other than on an individual basis.
However, this year the Wild Life Care Badge (WCB) was launched.
Please see https://www.wildlifecarebadge.com/ or
https://www.facebook.com/WildlifeCareBadge
The WCB is a practical & immediate way to support & empower every Wildlife Rescue & Rehabber up to a minimum standard of care ASAP.
I was one of the first cohort of rescuers to apply to gain this accreditation and I can honestly say that any rescue that has nothing to hide will breeze through it.
People might say, so whats the point? These very minimal requirements are being called too demanding and unrealistic by some rehabbers - who frankly shouldn’t be operating - so the point is that the WCB requirements are starting to bring out those people who should really be asking themselves - and are being asked by its developers, why they can’t even meet these basic standards.
The point is that at last we have a way of beginning to regulate rescues.
Currently the badge simply acknowledges that the rescue has reached a minimum standard but there will soon be add on units to enhance the standard reached.
In time it is hoped that it is seen as a standard of excellence. A recognition of good practice. A celebration of knowledge and expertise. A badge to be worn and displayed with pride. An award that Vets and members of the public will ask a rescue to have,' before depositing a hedgehog into their care.
I'm not suggesting this will be a quick fix , quite the reverse. It will be an evolution rather than a revolution but it is a start, and in my eyes a VERY welcome one.
Some rescuers may see it as pointless, they are working well, with great standards of care, great Vet relationships, record keeping and knowledge, but we need all those rescues to jump on board. We really do. It needs to be seen as a standard and something all rescues want to be part of. the accreditation is set up to help each rescuer be successful, the knowledge assessment can even be taken as a practice or anonymously. This is not in any way to point a finger at or root out the mavericks. It is to assist everyone to meet the standards that should really be in place anyway.
If you are reading this please have a look at the information provided on the website or Facebook page and share it with your local rescue, or veterinary practice.
Lets bring wild animal welfare into the limelight and expect great service for all wild animals in a time of need..
REF
Wembridge D, Johnson G, Al-Fulaij N, & Langton s. The State of Britains hedgehogs 2022
