Stuck hedgehog highlights UK litter problem

A hedgehog in Kent found itself at the sharp end of the UK’s litter problem after getting its head stuck in a glass bottle.

It was spotted in a ‘prickly situation’ by a member of the public in Snodland.

RSPCA Inspector David Grant collected the hedgehog, finding the opening of the bottle wedged tightly around her skull.

Inspector Grant was able to carefully free the hog from the bottle, before taking her to the RSPCA’s Mallydams Wildlife Centre, Hastings, to be checked over.

The animal has since been released back into the wild.

The RSPCA is using the incident to encourage people to dispose of rubbish properly and think about how litter can affect wildlife.

The animal charity received 5,081 calls about animals affected by litter in 2017.

Around 70% of those calls were about animals affected by litter left behind by fishing, including hooks, lures and netting.

Data from the RSPCA also reveals that around half of species affected by litter were large birds, such as swans, geese and gulls.

There were 146 cases of domestic cats injured by litter, 106 incidents involving foxes and 74 involving deer.

Hedgehogs affected by litter were the subject of RSPCA calls 53 times last year.