Euthanise hog without cheek and eye?
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What would You advice?
A neigbour feeds hogs in the backyard. This morning one came, that I saw this evening.
One cheek is missing so teeth is visible from the side in the lower jaw. It is eating. The food is visible in the mouth from the side.
One eye seem to be missing and it seems to be blind. One ear is hanging slightly.
My intention is to kill it. I will wait until tomorrow evening because my neighbour wanted to think until tomorrow before she lets me in and kill it.
I think that a human with similar injuries would have survived, but with a number of transplantations to get a cheek.
I guess a robotic lawn mower is the cause. Guess that another animal would not cause the flesh to be missing.
There is no carer in my area and I think it would still be futile.
Dear Jens,
This sounds absolutely horrific and has made me incredibly sad. For all the help we try to do for the Hogs comes all the bad done by cars, strimmers robotic lawnmowers etc.
I can only imagine this Hog must be in incredible pain.
Do you have wildlife vets that work for free? I would imagine they would put him out of his pain as his injuries sound beyond repair but I am not a vet.
Whatever happens I am sure you will be doing the best for this Hog.This is awful, I dare not ask how you intend to kill this poor animal, but am I mistaken, I thought all vets would help wildlife for free. I can’t see one vet would charge anyone for putting this poor HH for free. Please ring a local vet and ask. So sad.
Hi Jens
What a horrible position you find yourself in. Poor hedgehog – very sad. Of course, we don’t know for sure, but garden machinery can cause terrible injuries to hedgehogs.
I also wondered, like Annker, whether you could find a veterinary surgeon who would do what is necessary for the hedgehog. Here, I believe, most vets will treat wild animals free (and there is a wide network of hedgehog carers/rehabilitators) but I don’t know what the position is in Sweden. As Annker suggests, it might be worth trying to ask a vet – that’s what I would do. They would know how to deal with the hedgehog in the most humane way.
Kent Wildlife Rescue had pictures of a strimmer victim with similar injuries posted to their Facebook Page recently.
It was being tube fed and looked after whilst waiting a vetinary decision on whether facial reconstruction was an option (and an appeal for help towards the costs).
During the day one carer for hedgehogs (far away) that i sent pictures replied that the best was to kill it. Vets that i asked said the same. Vets would not euthanise it for free.
There is a person that is municipally contracted to kill animals that is ready.
My neighbour said today that the hedgehog has been there during the day, eating well and left for the forest. the neigbour got the impression that it is better. She wants to wait. So it won’t happend tonight.
I really hope I was wrong about it’s chances..
There is no carer in my municipality or county.
However it ends it’s sad
I wonder how robomowers hurt hedgehogs and what could be done apart from timing when they work.Not knowing for sure this was caused by a mower.
Here (probably since there is no real dark in the summer) healthy hedgehogs in june can be active even around 17.00 which means mowers should not be on then.
Does hedgehogs hear mowers and curl up? Do a mower climb over a curled up hedgehog? Would just a little wider “shield” around the knife (one more cm from the knife) make them much safer?
Are there safe mowers? Are some mowers sold as being safe?
Hi Jens
Such a sad situation. If the hedgehog carer has seen photographs of the injuries and thinks it’s best for the hog to be killed, then it seems that’s all you can do. Otherwise the hedgehog could die a slow horrible death. There would likely be infection as well.
Here, I more often hear of injuries to hedgehogs from strimmers or brush-cutters. I don’t think there are so many robo-mowers here, but probably numbers will increase and cause another hazard to hogs. Normally, with ordinary mowers, people would be more likely to see the hog, with the grass being already shorter, but strimmers, etc., used on long grass can cause terrible injuries. People are asked to check the area carefully before they use strimmers, or alternatively to strim to a height of about 20 – 30 cm first so that they can see any animals first, before strimming really low down. Not only hogs, but amphibians, reptiles, etc. are also injured/killed as a result of strimmers. Sadly, still many people do not bother to check first.
One of the hedgehogs from here is currently in a wildlife hospital as a result of a strimmer injury. A huge gash across the back of the neck. Some people may have thought the poor hog couldn’t be saved, but this hog was lucky that there is an amazing lady at the wildlife hospital, who has managed to get the wound to heal. I understand that, sadly, strimmer injuries are not unusual. Needless to say, I don’t use one myself.
But, you are right. Hedgehogs natural defence is to curl up rather than run, so that they are particularly vulnerable to injuries from garden machinery. It is possible that a wider and/or lower shield around the blade might help, but I imagine the limiting factor for the makers is how close they can get in to the edge. Possibly lower might help. I’m not familiar with robo-mowers. I had assumed they were designed for flat lawns, in which case it sounds as if a lower shield might help. But are they designed to go over humps? I can imagine that if the shield was low enough maybe the hog would roll along to some extent, as long as it didn’t hit an obstacle, if the mower wasn’t designed to go over humps.
I think maybe you need to contact the makers of these machines and have a discussion with them. Point out the dangers to wildlife and see if they can come up with some sort of solution. (maybe try to have a collection of images to show them, illustrating the damage garden machinery can do – your hedgehog carer contact may be able to help with that) From the manufacturers’ point of view I would have thought it would be a good selling point – if they had considered wildlife and made the machines so that they were less likely to injure or kill them. There must, surely, be some sort of sensors, so maybe the machines could be adapted to recognise and avoid wildlife. I’m not sure how ‘clever’ these things are. But, even if they included advice on how the machines were used and recommended checks were made before use, might help a bit.
It sounds as if, ideally, people would use the robo-mowers when they were around, so that they could check before use that there was no wildlife around. Perhaps a campaign of education is required. I suspect to many people, the danger to wildlife doesn’t enter their minds, unless it is pointed out.
The hedgehog is now going to vet and maybe carer that is standby. Wonderfull people have been going hours one way to get here to get it and go back to where there is a vet and carer.
I got a journalist to write about it and told that since healthy hogs have been active as early as 5 pm in june robomowers should only be used earlier.
Also how two facebook groups got a group of people to cooperate so that it will come to the right place.
That might at least bring something good out of this.
I will update about what happends to the hedgehog.
Thanks Nic!
I will think more about mowers.I have seen a injury from bushcutter that fortunately only involved spines.
I posted a awful video of the hedgehog at a advertisment page on facebook.
Will closely watch under a shut off robomower to try to understand things.
Fingers crossed this little chap makes it or at least isn’t suffering too much any more as a result of his misfortune. I did secondary rehab care for a female hog last year who lost half her face in a trimmer accident. She was incredibly brave and fiesty – with only one eye, one ear and half a nose, she was rereleased after surgery and 6 months of rehab. I think if your chap was still trying to eat with only half a face, he deserves a chance too, they are incredibly tolerant creatures but just need help from us sometimes.
What a sad story . Thanks for doing your best for the poor hog .
I hope it’s not suffering, one way or the other .
Hi Jens
So sorry to hear about the hedgehog. We can certainly say that that hedgehog had a lot of love and you have worked really hard on it’s behalf. No-one could have tried harder to do what was best for it. Now at least it is out of pain.
It sounds as if you have really got something going there to try to help the hedgehogs. It would be really nice if something good – in the way of making people more aware of the dangers to hedgehogs of garden machinery – can happen in memory of that brave hedgehog. I hope you can keep that going and that it is a great success.
Jens – you are a true hedgehog champion.
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