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Public urged to report hedgehog sightings

A hedgehog being weighed Credit: East Sussex Wildlife Rescue & Ambulance Service

With the hedgehog population declining by 5% each year, an animal charity in Sussex is asking people to report sightings of the prickly creature.

The East Sussex Wildlife Rescue & Ambulance Service is urging anyone who finds a hedgehog to call their rescue line. They will then scan the hedgehog for a microchip to see if it has been previously released in the area.

Their plea comes before with national Hedgehog Awareness Week, which runs from 1st to 7th May.

Volunteer Kathy with a rescued hedgehog Credit: East Sussex Wildlife Rescue & Ambulance Service

Hedgehogs are adorable creatures and the most common mammal we see at our Hospital.

It is thought that one of the biggest reasons for the decline is people blocking hedgehog pathways when installing new fencing or proofing gardens so they can't roam through large enough areas to find food or other hedgehogs to mate with in order to keep the population going. You only need a hole the size of CD for hedgehogs to get in and out of gardens."

– Trevor Weeks, founder, Wildlife Rescue & Ambulance Service