RSPCA worried about health of hedgehogs in Norfolk

The charity said it is experiencing its busiest hedgehog season nationwide for three years, with intake numbers so far this year already higher than the whole of 2023.

As of November 11, 2,002 hedgehogs have already been taken in this year by the charity’s four wildlife centres.

RSPCA East Winch Wildlife Centre in King’s Lynn has so far admitted 959 hedgehogs this year.

Evangelos Achilleos, manager of RSPCA East Winch Wildlife Centre, said: “It has been relentless here at East Winch - we have been inundated.

RSPCA experiences busiest season for three years (Image: emma jacobs)

"It is mostly hoglets that have been out during the day, and also hedgehogs with ringworm.

"We also had peak hedgehog admissions over the summer too. All the centres in this region are at capacity with hedgehogs.”

In September and October this year, 659 were admitted to RSPCA wildlife centres across the country - compared to 545 for the same period last year.

RSPCA wildlife expert Dr Rebecca Machin said: “We’re experiencing an unusually high number of hedgehog admissions this year.

“Most of the hedgehogs which the wonderful public are bringing in were found out and about during the day, which can be a sign of problems as hedgehogs are nocturnal animals.

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"Many are young hedgehogs born later in the year, who haven’t put on enough weight to survive hibernation over the winter months.

"Our wildlife centre staff work very hard to care for these hedgehogs, which may require hand feeding, rehydration, and veterinary treatments before they can safely return to the wild."

The RSPCA is urging people to be informed about when to intervene or not.

If they are being fed in the garden they urge people to continue to do so and leave them where they are unless there is a visible issue.