CASTLEFORD HEDGEHOG RESCUE

My Visit

I recently visited Castleford Hedgehog Rescue which is only a 5 minute walk from where I live and only a 10 minute walk from Castleford Town Centre. I have been following CHR for sometime now on Facebook and I have to say I admire the effort these lovely people put into hedgehog conservation & protection.

I decided I would like to try and help them out with some photos and this blog post! When I arrived at castleford Hedgehog Rescue, I met Beth & Jill who both run the rescue centre from there family home. I was very surprised the amount of hedgehogs they have staying there, 70 of them to be exact, at the moment they are not able to actually take any more in until some are rehomed or strong enough to release into the wild.

More Surprises

I was even more surprised that they do run this service without any support from the government or local councils. Beth told me that they even have to take the poorly hoggies to the vets which costs them money as well as buying medication and drugs to actually treat them. On top of the costs of the vets & medicines they also have to provide heating and Living space for each one they take in thats not even mentioning food.

What Can You Do To Help

If you find a hedgehog out during the day pick it up straight away and put into a high box with a towel, try and not feed it as if you feed it too much it can cause the hedgehog to have a heart attack and pass away. leave the feeding to a professional as they know how much to give them.
If you want to feed hedgehogs in your gardens, feed them cat food.
Don’t feed hedghogs on just mealworms, these are just a treat
If you see a Hedgehog in the road, pick it up and take to a local rescue to check for any injuries, just to be sure it hasnt been injured.
If you find an injured Hedgehog, please please please, CALL your local rescue centre, if posible pick it up and take it to them.
Check your hedges and borders before doing any strimming/gardening
Adopt a Hedgehog from your local Rescue and give it a home if you have a secure Garden. Some hedgehogs need a secure garden as they wouldnt be strong enough in the wild
If you see a small hedgehog in the autumn/winter time pick it up and take to a rescue as they won’t survive winter! They need be at least 650-700g to hibernate, anything smaller and they won’t make.

Fund Raising

Castleford Hedgehog Rescue are raising funds to help them look after all these little Hoggies. Luckily not too long ago they won the Asda token collection and got a little cash from them. That was greatly recieved but unfortunately it wont last long.