Wild Hogs Hedgehog Rescue is celebrating after receiving a grant of £25,000 from the Jean Sainsbury Animal Welfare Trust. The grant will enable the rescue to replace the rehabilitation hutches with veterinary standard hutches.
The funding will also enable the rescue to offer hoglet training to volunteers and support other hedgehog rehabilitation centres with hoglet care. Wild Hogs Hedgehog Rescue has an excellent record in hand rearing hoglets and provides support for hedgehogs in the Stroud area.
Emily Harper, Hospital Manager said “We are delighted to receive this grant. Our hutches are over eight years old. We admit 400 hedgehogs every year, so they are well used. The new hutches will provide the hedgehogs with more space and are much easier for our volunteers to keep clean.”
Chair of Trustees, Jo Bisley has developed the hoglet rearing programme. “We know we can successfully hand rear hoglets from as small as 15g, approximately one day old. Hand rearing is a dedicated process that requires experience and the support of veterinary care. At Wild Hogs, our team takes hoglets for rehabilitation centres as part of Gloucestershire Hedgehog Network and we are looking forward to sharing our knowledge more widely with other rescues across the UK.”
Hedgehogs are vulnerable to extinction in the UK, and Wild Hogs Hedgehog Rescue works to conserve hedgehogs in Gloucestershire. To help hedgehogs in your garden, the rescue advises putting out dry cat biscuits and plenty of fresh water. If you find a sick or injured hedgehog, disturb a nest or need advice on a hedgehog please call the rescue on 07949 976717.
Wild Hogs Hedgehog Rescue was supported by the Jean Sainsbury Animal Welfare Trust during the Covid pandemic, when they provided emergency funding to rescues and are also the only funder to continue to support charities by giving grants towards running costs. These are a lifeline for small rehabilitation centres like Wild Hogs Hedgehog Rescue and without their support the rescue would not be able to operate.