Hedgehog made to inhale cannabis then thrown into river by cruel yobs

ANIMAL MAY HAVE BEEN BLINDED IN ORDEAL

YOBS may have blinded a female hedgehog by forcing it to smoke cannabis before throwing it into a river.

Witnesses saw a group of boys blowing cannabis smoke into a bag containing the hedgehog, which they then tipped out into the River Welland in the Memorial Gardens Market Harborough on April 10.

The witnesses rushed to grab the hedgehog to take it home and call the RSPCA.

The hedgehog is making a good recovery and has become a permanent resident at the Leicestershire Wildlife Hospital in Kibworth.

Hospital staff kept her in an incubator and it has doubled its weight since being was admitted after the ordeal.

The hedgehog has been cared for at the hospital since the cruel incident last month, which is being investigated by the RSPCA.

It has now been taken out of an incubator and will stay at the volunteer-run hospital permanently, as it is blind in one eye and would struggle if released back into the wild.

Amy Ducker, team leader at Leicestershire Wildlife Hospital, said: “It’s shocking really, we can’t get our heads round why anyone would want to do that to the poor hedgehog.

“I don’t know possesses people to treat animals in this way.

“The hedgehog was quite weak when she came into us so we popped her into the incubator just to get her warmed up as she had been in the river. She came into us weighing just over 350g and now she’s almost 600g so she’s been doing really well and eating lots and lots of food.

“It’s most likely she was already blind but we can’t rule it out completely as the cause of it. Because she’s blind she’s more vulnerable to predators in the wild so she will stay with us as a resident.

“We have a few more hedgehogs so she won’t be on her own.”

The RSPCA is continuing to appeal for information following the incident, which happened on Saturday, April 10, on the banks of the river opposite the Memorial Gardens.

RSCPA spokesman Nicola Walker said: “We are really keen to speak to anyone who might know who might have been involved. If people have information we urge them to come forward. It’s a really disturbing incident. It’s upsetting to think that people thought was okay to do.

“We are grateful to the public who came forward to help save this poor hedgehog’s life and kept her safe until we could take her to the hospital. We are very grateful to the wildlife hospital for looking after her.

■ Anyone with any information should call the RSPCA on 0300 123

8018.