Beki Heath

Every day now is filled with phone calls from finders of out-in-the-day hedgehogs. And they are all saying the same thing: "We brought him in, put him in a box and gave him food, he was starving." They don't realise, but these sweet kind people have just sealed this hedgehog's fate. Please NEVER feed a daytime wildlife casualty. I know, it's so hard not to. When we see a suffering animal we feel a strong, innate impulse to help, and a desire to provide immediate tangible comfort; equating food with survival and care. Feeding feels like a direct, immediate and nurturing action to alleviate suffering. Yet it is the most catastrophically harmful thing you could ever do. Especially hedgehogs out in the day, who will be hypothermic. It takes a lot of energy to digest food, energy these compromised animals just don't have spare. Every last bit of their energy is being used to maintain vital bodily functions - to keep the heart beating, to oxygenate the organs. Forcing energy away from these critical functions for something as non-critical as digesting food will be a death sentence. It won't be immediate, it may take hours, or a couple of days, but eventually, no matter what the experienced rescue you later take them to tries, the animal is already on the unstoppable journey into shock, organ failure and death. It's tragic for the casualty and heartbreaking for the rescues. So please help in the right way. An out-in-the-day hedgehog needs *contact* warmth, a safe indoor space away from flies, and cover to reduce their stress (please see advice below). They are not going to die of starvation in the couple of hours between you finding them, and getting them to a rescue.😊 And please remember - any website that gives you DIY information on caring for or feeding injured or orphaned wildlife is, by default, wrong. The ONLY right action is to get them to a good rescue (never a vet) where their complex needs can be met. Even if you have seen this vital information before and understand it, feeding wildlife casualties is a powerful compulsion because it directly activates human instincts of empathy and compassion, often overriding the scientific advice against it. So please remember this warning and spread it as far as you can. Helping a wildlife casualty get to the expert treatment they need is an incredibly kind, altruistic act of great humanity. Just remember to provide them with what they need, not what you need.🥰

🔥If your bonfire wasn't built today - then please MOVE IT NOW.‼️ It won't take nearly as long as you think, and then you can relax and enjoy it tonight. I've seen the face of someone handing me a hedgehog smelling like a barbecue and screaming. You never want to be that person.

So many otherwise trusted sites are posting deadly misinformation about bonfires, and hedgehogs who may be nesting under them. PLEASE BE CLEAR: ❌Poking a broom or stick under the bonfire will do nothing - even if you actually hit the hiding hedgehog and hurt her, she will NOT run. Hedgehogs DO NOT have the flight or fight reflex that humans and other animals have. Their response to threat and danger, and even pain, is to curl into a ball and stay put, and wait for the danger to pass. ❌A hiding hedgehog will NOT hiss, or make any sound at all! They are a prey animal, you are a predator - they will NOT alert a predator to their presence, they will stay silent. ❌Lighting the bonfire from one side will NOT WORK. Their response to danger is to STAY PUT AND CURL INTO A PROTECTIVE BALL. They won't come running out. As the heat comes closer and the smoke fills her lungs, a hiding hedgehog will just curl tighter. Whoever wrote these 'tips' does not understand the nature of a hedgehog. THEY DO NOT RUN FROM DANGER. Broadcasting this total nonsense is spreading a false sense of security and is potentially extremely harmful. The only safe bonfire is one that is built or moved ON THE DAY IT IS LIT. Moving a bonfire takes less time than you'd think. There are lots of late-born baby hedgehogs around right now, who would see a bonfire as a safe place to nest. Regrets won't turn back the clock. The 'If only' will haunt you for a lifetime. If you have to have a bonfire, please make sure you do it right.

🔊Fireworks. Just don't. Please. It's so cruel. Stress kills wildlife. Please choose kindness. We have so many ways of entertaining ourselves which don't involve the suffering and death of animals.

Pumpkins: Halloween is one night. Tonight. If you have to waste a food item (and I strongly suggest you don't), please put it out for that one night, then safely dispose of it. Please DO NOT put it out for the wildlife. Once you've handled it, cut it, left it out in the open, unrefrigerated, it will not be hygienic or safe for anyone to eat. Pumpkins are a low-acid vegetable, so once they are cut and left at room temperature, pathogens will rapidly grow on the flesh, producing mould spores. Our precious wildlife do not have any magical properties that protect them against food poisoning. Additionally, this time of year there are baby hedgehogs around, born too late to find natural food, desperate to eat anything to stop the pain of starvation. Pumpkin has a laxative affect so it would be particularly cruel to leave it out for starving wildlife to eat in desperation, causing them to lose precious fluids that may make the difference between life and death. So no matter what you read elsewhere, please DO NOT put your discarded decoration out for the birds or any other wildlife. Please DO NOT compost them either, as a composting pumpkin can produce highly toxic tremorgenic mycotoxins, which will be deadly if the compost bin is not properly secured and is accessible to wildlife (or pets). Many hedgehogs, seeking the warmth of a compost bin, die this way every year. Once you've used the pumpkin as decoration it's waste, fit only for the bin. Please help get this vital message spread far and wide, to save precious lives and prevent suffering.