Hedgehog on road to recovery after getting trapped in can
A hedgehog who nearly died after getting trapped in a can before Christmas is on the road to recovery.
She was found in an empty cat food tin which had been put out for recycling at a house in Hopton Castle, south Shropshire.
With great difficulty the owner and her husband carefully cut the hog free and took her to the British Hedgehog Preservation Society based in Ludlow.
Tinny, as she has since been named, was only 290g, hypothermic and desperate for food because she was far too small to hibernate successfully.
Fay Vass from the society said: "She was also found to have lungworm and fluke, both of which needed medical treatment.
"We can only imagine how many hoglets and other creatures may have perished this way. Sadly, hedgehogs are in decline and our prickly friends now need all the help they can get."
She is now urging people not only to wash out their used food tins but also to crush them so animals do not crawl into them.
Tinny has now been released after recuperating with hedgehog rehabilitator Jenny Aylwin-Foster.
Jenny said: "Despite a really tough start, when she had to have a course of various injections and her weight went up and down like a yoyo, she eventually pulled through.
"She had the very best accommodation and room service and always showed signs of being a bit of a diva. She relished the easy life and put on lots of weight.
"She was released back at Hopton Castle, in a brand new designer hedgehog house especially bought for her, weighing 807g. Since then she has stayed in the area and snacks on kitten biscuits which are her absolute favourite.
"Tinny will almost certainly be going into hibernation very soon and hopes 2019 will be much safer."
