Hedgehog Release Programme

RELEASING A HEDGEHOG IN YOUR GARDEN
– BECOME A HEDGEHOG CARER

If you are interested in becoming a hedgehog carer, please email us at hedgehogrehome@rangerslodgewildlifehospital.org

As well as making sick and injured hedgehogs well again, we also take in babies too young to fend for themselves. During the spring and autumn seasons we get quite a few young and occasionally we have adult hedgehogs who cannot go back to where they were found for safety reasons. These young hedgehogs need to be released back into the wild after we have nursed them into young adults, so we need to find release sites for them.

These hedgehogs are not pets and if you take one, we cannot guarantee that it will stay in your garden.

Criteria for releasing a hedgehog in your garden:

• There must already be other hedgehogs visiting your area and if there aren’t any there will be a good reason for this
• A well-built hedgehog house for each hedgehog
• The ability for the hedgehog to get out of your garden, to roam at will
• Suitable bushes and shrubs for cover
• Non-use of pesticides
• Any fish pond must have shallow, sloping sides, so the hedgehog can get out if it falls in
• No chain-link fences, as hedgehogs can get their head stuck
• Your willingness to provide cat food every evening
• Make a minimum donation of £20 per hedgehog

Please note : We release our hedgehogs during spring, summer and autumn. We won’t release any whilst there is snow/frost on the ground.