Newport hedgehogs under threat (From South Wales Argus)

Newport hedgehogs under threat

7:00am Friday 1st March 2013 in News

NEWPORT hedgehogs are under threat as tidy gardens are reducing their habitats, a wildlife group says, Gwent Badger and Fox Rescue, St Julians Avenue, says it has seen a large rise in the number of hedgehogs that are too underweight to hibernate.

The organisation mainly deals with badgers and foxes, but due to the large increase of hedgehog cases, has taken on the plight of the Newport hedgehogs In 2012 the conservation organisation says it rescued 150 hedgehogs who struggled to maintain their habitats due to the lack of overgrown gardens.

Once rescued, the hedgehogs are kept for two to three months before being micro-chiped and released in to the wild.

Founder Alex Lewis,veterinary nurse at a local vet surgery, said: "We run a 24 hour operation with five volunteers to help, collect and bottle feed, the animals we find.

"People have recently been phoning us about seeing hedgehogs in their garden during the day.

"This is unusual as hedgehogs are nocturnal creatures.

"We want people to be aware of this problem and to contact us is they see an animal that needs rescuing."

To report a vulnerable animal, call Gwent Badger and Fox Rescue on: 07530471150 and 078024727