The Wild Things Res-Q hospital is treating an increasing number of animals and relies solely on memberships and donations.

HELP! WE’RE GETTING SNOWED UNDER…
WITH HEDGEHOGS

It’s never quiet here at Wild Things Res-Q, with wildlife casualties of all shapes and sizes being brought in to us throughout the year.

But early winter we’re always especially busy with second-litter hedgehogs - born late and still too small to survive a winter in the wild. These vulnerable little hoglets must be kept warm and fed right through until spring so that they don’t go into hibernation. If they do - and they weigh less than 1 1/2lbs (680g) - they won’t have enough fat reserves, and they’ll die.

This year we’ve taken in more than ever before - getting close to 100, and still they’re coming. Popular with gardeners everywhere, these delightful little creatures are becoming increasingly rare in the UK, with experts growing concerned about their survival. In Wiltshire we still have a healthy population - and we want to keep it that way. Despite these little hoglets putting a huge strain on our time, energy and especially our funds (all of which come from voluntary donations) we will never turn one away.

So for the second year we’re running a campaign to encourage hedgehog fans to help our hoglets have a Happy Christmas by donating a tin of cat or dog food. They do best on chicken-based varieties, but they’re very willing to eat most kinds (except fish). They also love munching cat biscuits.

We are setting up a number of collection points - your local one is at our charity shop at 15-17 The Bridge, Chippenham (open every day except Sundays). You can also drop tins off at our premises in Newton Tony.

Please remember the hedgehogs when you do your shopping?

Thank you