14/06/2026
🚨RELEASE SITE APPEAL🚨
Image is three of Alice’s babies who will be ready to release within the next couple of weeks 😍.
We currently have a lot of litters (with mums). The babies will be ready for release soon. We have a few suitable re-homing gardens on standby but need many more. If this is something you feel you can help with please read the ℹ️ below and if you meet our criteria please get in touch by DM.
Apologies for the long post but it is important to give these little ones the best chance of survival in the wild 🥰🦔🦔🦔
We try to release hedgehogs as close as possible to where they were found, however this is not always possible. When this is the case we then aim to find a suitable release site in the same postcode area. We do not ‘batch’ release, as this may diminish their chances of survival. We also rehome babies separately to mum (as recommended by the BHPS). We will sometimes release siblings together, at our discretion.
So, RELOCATION is sometimes necessary, especially where habitats are fragmented and there is a danger of existing populations inbreeding or becoming wiped out.
For these reasons we rarely use enclosed spaces either. Hedgehogs can travel up to two miles each night and will naturally find new territories and unrelated mates. Restricting access to new habitats causes additional issues (especially for males) and they have enough to deal with.
TRANSLOCATION is NOT advised by leading authorities in the hedgehog world and is based on experience and some research / scientific evidence. There are many reasons for this, the main ones being inherited resistance to some diseases within a habitat and also that most adults will have ‘mapped’ an area. They will know where to find food / water and shelter.
However, that being said, this is not always the case with babies who may have been be in rescue for some time. In this instance we will consider relocating to a well supported site.
So, with this in mind, we need your support finding suitable release sites. We try to have homes ready and waiting so healthy hogs are not stuck in rescue, this also ensures we can free space up for any injured / sick hogs needing to come in to rescue.
We do have some location criteria that needs to be considered to ensure any release sites are suitable and that the rehabilitated hedgehogs have the best chance of survival in the wild (a legal requirement).
Please read the following criteria carefully, they are non-negotiable, especially the first one.
1. You must have hedgehogs already visiting your garden
2. We do NOT release into areas that are waterlogged.
3. Ideally no badger setts nearby. Badgers will not routinely kill and eat hedgehogs but they might if they are hungry and have young to feed.
4. Check any neighbours are NOT USING rat traps, pesticides / poisons and any resident dogs are supervised when in the garden
5. If you live near a strimmer fanatic please speak with them about checking before they use it.
6. You will need to provide suitable housing, have nesting areas in your garden. Ensure suitable bedding is available - dry leaves, chopped & dust free straw NOT hay.
7. Be willing to set up a feeding station with hedgehog food or cat biscuits. Wet food is not advisable as it will attract flies and maggots in the warmer weather.
8. Shallow dishes of water topped up and cleaned regularly. These do not need to be in the feed station
9. Any ponds should have shallow sloping sides or a scramble net, steps or a slope of some kind.
10. If you use any form of garden netting please ensure it is at least 12 inches above the ground. Also football nets etc should be lifted.
If you’ve made it to this point, understand the importance of all of the above and are willing to comply with all of the above, please get in touch soon 🥰🦔🦔🦔
We are more than happy to try and answer any questions you may have.
