Households are being urged to remove fake spiderwebs from their gardens this Halloween because the decorations can trap and kill hedgehogs. The warning comes from a hedgehog clinic, which described the material as a "real and terrifying" death for animals that become entangled in it.
Why fake cobwebs are dangerous
The fine synthetic fibres are difficult for animals to see and can quickly wrap around their legs, spines and neck, leading to severe injuries. When a hedgehog struggles to free itself, the web tightens, cutting off circulation and causing deep wounds. These constriction injuries often lead to permanent damage or death.
Hedgehogs are already endangered in the UK, with numbers collapsing since the 1960s due to climate change, habitat loss and the rise of car use.
A rescue from Manchester
The clinic reported its first call of the season about a hedgehog trapped in fake cobwebs, this time from Manchester. The caller was talked through getting the animal to a rescue. The hedgehog had been trapped for at least one night, and her struggles had pulled the nylon strands so tightly that one of her toes had been amputated.
She was stressed, dehydrated, starving and exhausted, and had bite and peck wounds to her face after being held helpless while a predator tried to eat her alive.
Take it down now
The clinic's message to households is clear: "If you have used this deadly cruel trap to 'decorate' your garden, please take it down now." It also urged people not to be "conned by the greedy makers and sellers of this rubbish into hurting defenceless animals."
