Who let the hogs out?!
VOLUNTEERS at Woodlands Animal Sanctuary have been busy releasing dozens of hedgehogs which have been sheltering at the centre over winter.
The centre, in Sandy Lane in Holmeswood, near Ormskirk, cares for about 300 animals, 365 days a year.
It is also a hedgehog rescue and rehabilitation centre and can accommodate up to 100 hedgehogs at any one time.
At the moment, helpers are busy releasing – to approved soft release sites – all the healthy ones that have been overwintered at the sanctuary, but are also preparing for the onslaught of new admittances they will be receiving over the coming months.
From abandoned hoglets, to pregnant females and everything in between, the team needs to be ready for whatever cases may be brought in.
Sally McDerby from Woodlands said: “We have a group of volunteers who take hogs for release from us every year and this year we have also advertised for people who may be interested in being a part of this.
“They take the hog from us and put it in a hutch in their garden for two weeks, feeding, watering, cleaning it out and weighing it during this time.
“As long as all is well at the end of the fortnight they are able to leave the hutch open so the hog can come and go as it pleases.
‘‘Once the hog has stopped sleeping in the hutch it may be removed and we just ask that a food supply is left out for them 365 days a year.
“Although they hibernate during the winter it is only for 10 days at a time and they need food when they wake up to be able to maintain enough weight for another successful hibernation period.
“We ask that the hog can always get out of the garden, hence release rather than rehome, and that this is not onto a main road.
“This year we have released over 50 hogs within the local area and will continue to release those well enough until the weather turns again at the end of the year. 0nce we start experiencing a drop in temperature and the chance of frost becomes likely we stop releasing until the following year.”
Sally said there were many benefits to garden lovers to welcoming a hedgehog.
She said: “Whether you’re looking for a perfectly manicured lawn, a sea of colour and a variety of flowers, a more rustic setting to relax in or your own bit of wilderness to escape from the world for a while, the humble hedgehog could be the answer you are looking for. Hedgehogs will eat insects such as slugs, beetles and caterpillars which are all pests that we can spend a lot of time and often money trying to get rid of.
“Like Jack Frost, they leave no footprints, and wish no harm to your decorative railings, expensive and highly pruned hedge, beautifully crafted flower beds or your lovingly painted fence.
“Their only request is an escape route out of your garden, which needs only be a 3cm-squared space through which they can saunter.
“Contributing to these ‘hedgehog highways’ will mean that you are giving the one million hedgehogs that are left in this country (this has reduced by 30% in the last 10 years alone) a chance to survive.”
Woodlands relies solely upon donations and money raised for them for their running costs, to be able to continue their lifesaving work.
Their next fundraising event is their Open Day on Sunday, May 20.
Call 01704 823293 or visit www. woodlandsanimalsanctuary.org.uk