News

British Hedgehog Preservation Society funds important research to improve the treatment of sick hedgehogs

2023 is off to a brilliant start as the British Hedgehog Preservation Society commits to a research grant for Dr Sophie Lund Rasmussen, also known as Dr Hedgehog, our resident hedgehog specialist at WildCRU.

Dr Sophie Lund Rasmussen will lead a comprehensive and important study on the microbiomes of European hedgehogs in the UK and Denmark, describing the bacterial and fungal communities living inside the hedgehogs. The research will be based on faecal samples collected from hedgehogs by volunteers. The project is a collaboration between WildCRU and specialists from Aalborg University in Denmark, University of Sassari in Italy.

The knowledge gained will help to optimise the treatment of hedgehogs admitted with infections at wildlife rehabilitation centres, improving the opportunity to for the staff to target the treatment, potentially causing a higher survival of diseased hedgehogs admitted into care.

You can follow the hedgehog research of Dr Sophie Lund Rasmussen here:
Pindsvineforskning
@Dr_Pindsvin
Dr Hedgehog
https://www.wildcru.org/research/hedgehogs/

About the British Hedgehog Preservation Society

• BHPS is a UK charity founded in 1982 dedicated to helping & protecting hedgehogs native to the UK. Through their campaigns, advocacy and educational projects they work to raise awareness of the practical steps we can all take to help reverse the decline of hedgehogs in the wild, improve their welfare and safeguard the future of this much-loved animal. They also fund research that provides important new insights into the conservation and welfare of hedgehogs.
• Visit britishhedgehogs.org.uk/ and follow BHPS on Facebook, Twitter & LinkedIn.