Two men and two teenagers have been arrested after a hedgehog was painted in the colours of Leeds United football club. The hedgehog was found looking more like Sonic the Hedgehog with blue and yellow stripes. It was so terrified and struggling to move it could have eventually starved to death, a rescuer at a hedgehog sanctuary said.
Hedgehog unable to curl up due to paint
The spiny mammal was left unable to 'curl up' to defend itself from predators and even had 'breathing problems' due to the fumes from the paint. West Yorkshire Police Wildlife and Rural Crime team today said over the weekend they arrested four men aged 44, 21, 17 and 15.
They were handcuffed on suspicion of causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal contrary to Section 4 of the Animal Welfare Act 2006. A woman found an adult female hedgehog at her home in Yeadon, in Leeds, West Yorkshire.
Rescue and treatment
Staff at Prickly Pigs Hedgehog Rescue in based in Otley, also in Leeds, who took in the animal, had to scrub clean the oil-based paint from each individual spine and administer pain relief. Diane Cook, 51, who owns the rescue shelter, said whether it is football-related or not, the actions were 'absolutely appalling'.
According to Diane, because the creature had restricted movement, it had no way of defending itself from predators and could have easily been 'killed'. Or even worse, slowly starved to death or succumbed to malnutrition. Diane – who runs the shelter from her converted garage – said the paint was so 'thick and tough it had glued her spines together'.
The animal lover also said the paint was similar to emulsion used for decorating or even one used for road marking road surfaces.
Arrests and bail
Police chiefs said that all four have been bailed for further enquiries to take place. A spokesperson for the force said: 'Four arrests have been made after a hedgehog was sprayed blue in the Yeadon area, Leeds. 'Over the weekend four men aged, 44, 21, 17 and 15 were arrested on suspicion of causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal contrary to Section 4 of the Animal Welfare Act 2006. 'All four have been bailed for further enquires to take place.'
'Anyone with information is asked to call 101 or use the Live Chat option on our website quoting reference 13260401913. 'Information can also be given anonymously to the independent Crimestoppers charity on 0800 555 111.'
Hedgehog decline
Hedgehogs are in decline in Britain and are now listed as 'Vulnerable' on Britain's red list of mammals. According to the latest State of Britain's hedgehogs report, numbers of hedgehogs have fallen by up to 30% in urban areas and 50% in rural areas since the turn of the century.
