Animal shelter alarmed by Alderney hedgehogs dying

Alderney Animal Welfare Society has seen some of the hogs coming in with an incredible volume of ticks.

Lots of these hedgehogs have also had concerning medical symptoms, such as breathing difficulties, neurological issues, being very small and underweight, and skin sores.

Nurse Kelly Huitson said it was normal for the society to see a few hedgehogs at this time of year as the weather gets colder.

They would normally be treated and released.

‘But over the last month we’ve had some that are smaller than we would expect and they have not been thriving with treatment,’ she said.

‘So we have started to ask if there is something going on.’

It is normal for a healthy hedgehog to be seen with about five ticks. But having more can be a sign the hedgehog has another health problem.

Miss Huitson said after a warm, wet period, it would be expected to see more ticks, but the ill hedgehogs have not been moving, allowing the ticks to live and breed on the animals, making them weaker, dehydrated and anaemic.

‘What is more worrying is how many there have been in a short space of time,’ she said.

‘The symptoms are also not just tick symptoms, so it could be something else.’

So far none of the sick hedgehogs have survived, with Miss Huitson estimating between six and 10 being lost in the last two months.

‘They have either been so ill they have died within a couple of hours or we have had to put them to sleep, as they were suffering,’ she said.

‘We haven’t had any survivors. It’s heartbreaking’

She said the society did not normally put out social media posts like one this week, which aimed to raise awareness of the issue.

‘But the hope is that it can help get to the bottom of the problem.

‘We don’t normally want to worry the public,’ Miss Huitson said.

‘This is a bit of a plea.

‘The worry is that the illness could be caused by pesticides or rodent bait, which might not be wildlife friendly, and this could be making the hogs sick.'

A blood test was taken from one of the animals and there were no obvious issues spotted, but the society’s staff are checking with a UK expert, as well as speaking to animal shelters across the UK to see if they are seeing anything similar.

Alderney is famous for its blonde hedgehogs, with more than half the unusual colour due to recessive genes.

GSPCA centre manager Steve Byrne said it saw between 500 and 700 hedgehogs a year and were busier at this time of year. But it had not seen anything similar to the Alderney issues.

‘But Alderney is a lot smaller, so they would see the impact much more quickly of any illness or poisoning,’ Mr Byrne said.

He said GSPCA staff would be keeping an eye out for any similar problems in Guernsey.