An Estimate of the Scale and Composition of the Hedgehog (Erinaceus europeaus) Rehabilitation Community in Britain and the Channel Islands

Abstract

The conservation benefits of wildlife rehabilitation are equivocal, but could be substantial for formerly common species that are declining rapidly but are still commonly admitted to wildlife centres. We used a questionnaire survey to estimate the number of practitioners rehabilitating West European hedgehogs (Erinaceus europaeus) in Britain and the numbers entering hospitals/centres in one benchmark year (2016); practitioners were identified using an internet search and snowball sampling. Overall, 304 rehabilitators were identified: 148 supplied data on their structure, and 174 outlined the number of hedgehogs admitted in 2016. The former comprised 62.6% small (≤50 hedgehogs admitted year−1), 16.7% medium-sized (51−250 yr−1), and 20.7% large (>250 yr−1) hospitals; however, these accounted for 4.8%, 12.4%, and 82.8% of hedgehog admissions, respectively. Small hospitals were less likely to be registered as a charity, have paid staff, have a social media account, to record admissions electronically, or to conduct post-release monitoring. However, they were more likely to operate from their home address and to have been established for ≤5 years. Extrapolations indicate that this rehabilitation community admitted >40,000 hedgehogs in 2016, of which approximately 50% could have been released. These figures suggest that wildlife rehabilitation has potentially been an important factor in the dynamics of hedgehog populations in Britain in the last two decades.

Keywords: Erinaceus europaeus; European hedgehog; animal welfare; conservation; wildlife hospital; wildlife rehabilitation.

Figure 1

Frequency distribution of small, medium-sized, and large wildlife hospitals/rehabilitation organisations identified from original online searches (n = 59) versus snowball sampling (n = 115). Vertical lines indicate size categories defined retrospectively on the basis of the number of hedgehogs admitted in 2016: small ≤ 50 admissions; medium-sized = 51–250 admissions; and large ≥250 admissions.

Figure 2

Number of years that small (≤50 admissions; n = 98), medium-sized (51–250 admissions; n = 22), and large (>250 admissions; n = 17) hospitals had been established in 2016.

Figure 3

Frequency plot of the number of unpaid staff (volunteers) working at small (≤50 admissions; n = 108), medium-sized (51–250 admissions; n = 22), and large (>250 admissions; n = 17) hospitals in 2016.

Figure 4

Median (±IQR) number of hedgehogs admitted annually to (a) small (≤50 admissions), (b) medium (51–250 admissions), and (c) large (>250 admissions) hospitals each year in the five-year period from 2012–2016, inclusive; figures above columns indicate sample sizes. (d) Number of hedgehogs admitted annually for those hospitals (n = 28) that provided data for all five years; letters above columns indicate post hoc groups from a Friedman test.

Figure 4

Median (±IQR) number of hedgehogs admitted annually to (a) small (≤50 admissions), (b) medium (51–250 admissions), and (c) large (>250 admissions) hospitals each year in the five-year period from 2012–2016, inclusive; figures above columns indicate sample sizes. (d) Number of hedgehogs admitted annually for those hospitals (n = 28) that provided data for all five years; letters above columns indicate post hoc groups from a Friedman test.

Figure 4

Median (±IQR) number of hedgehogs admitted annually to (a) small (≤50 admissions), (b) medium (51–250 admissions), and (c) large (>250 admissions) hospitals each year in the five-year period from 2012–2016, inclusive; figures above columns indicate sample sizes. (d) Number of hedgehogs admitted annually for those hospitals (n = 28) that provided data for all five years; letters above columns indicate post hoc groups from a Friedman test.

Figure 5

Number of juveniles, adults, and hedgehogs of unknown age admitted annually across the four wildlife hospitals in England run by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals during the period from 2006–2018, inclusive.