Bonfire Night Warning: Garden hedgehogs at risk
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The team at a leading cottage holiday provider and the British Hedgehog Preservation Society are urging Britons to stay cautious when building and lighting bonfires this year, in a bid to try and cut down on the number of hedgehogs being burnt alive in UK gardens after burrowing into pre-built bonfires this winter.
After spending the last few months assisting a Devonshire based animal sanctuary crowdfund more than £2,500 in order to help rescue, treat and house injured hedgehogs, a UK-based holiday letting company is aiming to raise awareness of the dangers that bonfires pose to the creatures as November 5th approaches.
Using a themed infographic to outline the potential dangers Hedgehogs face during this time of the year, holidaycottages.co.uk are keen to highlight to British homeowners the simple steps they can take in order to prevent finding the unwelcome surprise of an injured or dead hedgehogs the night after any bonfire celebrations planned this year.
The team are also urging families to help hedgehogs find somewhere safe, warm and dry to rest and hibernate in by encouraging them to build their own hedgehog homes in order to give vulnerable creatures somewhere to keep shelter as winter approaches.
Please find a link here for an extensive selection of images of hedgehogs from the sanctuary enjoying one of the example hedgehog homes already built.
James Morris, Managing Director of holidaycottages.co.uk, made the following comment on the news of the bonfire night warning:
“As hedgehogs are nocturnal creatures known to travel up to two miles each night, bonfire night is a particularly dangerous time of the year for them. We have created our infographic in order to give some simple advice and tips to Britons planning to hold a party in the run up to Guy Fawkes night.”
He continued: “If you ever find a hedgehog out in your garden during the day you can contact either a local recuse centre or the British Hedgehog Preservation Society. As the animals are lactose intolerant, do not try to feed them milk, but instead attempt to source them caterpillars, beetles, earthworms, snails and slugs. Failing that, they are also able to digest cat biscuits or meat-based cat food.”
Fay Vass, Chief Executive of the British Hedgehog Preservation Society (www.britishhedgehogs.org.uk) said: "We are delighted that holidaycottages.co.uk is highlighting the plight of hedgehogs at this time of year, the more people we can reach with this message the better. Bonfire piles look like 5 star hotels to hedgehogs, so please do check carefully and when lighting light from one side only so as to provide an escape route for anything you may have missed.
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