Illegal hedgehog found on the lam in Pennsylvania captured
Saturday morning, Tracie Young received a call from a Pennsylvania Game Commission warden with a request.
It happens from time to time. Young is founder and director of the Raven Ridge Wildlife Center in Washington borough in southeastern Lancaster County.
This was different.
That morning, the game warden was on his way to the West Manchester Township Police Department, which reported that a resident walking his dog that morning saw a critter, according to the Game Commission. Police detained the animal and called the game warden.
The game warden told her it was a hedgehog.
At first, she said, she thought the police might have misidentified the animal and that it was possibly a baby groundhog that had wandered from its burrow.
Hedgehogs are not native to Pennsylvania, and they are illegal to possess in the commonwealth. But that doesn't discourage some people from keeping them as pets, a summary offense under state law.
'When the warden arrived at our center, we discovered that it was, in fact, a hedgehog,' Tracie wrote on the center's Facebook page.
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It is the center's first hedgehog in its 10 years of existence, she said. (Young founded the center in 2015 to rehabilitate injured, orphaned and displace wildlife.)
Pennsylvania is one of four states to ban ownership of hedgehogs – the others are California, Georgia and Hawaii. They are also banned in all five boroughs of New York City.
They are banned for good reason. They are not native to North or South America and are considered an invasive species. They are omnivores, eating just about everything, including crops, fruit, vegetables, worms, bugs, mice, snakes and baby birds, among other things.
Game commission's Lt. Amy Nabozny said it was not investigating. 'We have no idea whose it was, where it came from or anything like that. And it's unlikely the person will come forward.'
The game commission comes across 'a handful' of hedgehogs every year, Nabozny said. It's not like there's a big infestation of them, she said.
'People get them as pets and when they get them, they probably don't realize they are illegal when they get them,' Nabozny said. 'The intent is not nefarious.'
Sometimes, hedgehogs found in the wild merely wander from their homes. But other times, they are released by their owners, who don't realize what they are getting into. It is also a violation of state law to release non-native animals into the wild, something that could result in hefty fines.
Why someone would want a hedgehog as a pet is a mystery, she said. 'You have to ask someone who has one."
Young believes people might like them as pets because 'it's something different. It's something unusual, not your run-of-the-mill pet.'
There have been efforts to legalize them as pets – they are legal in surrounding states and are available for purchase just a short drive away – but they have failed in the legislature.
'This case highlights that someone had irresponsibly turned this hedgehog loose to fend for itself in an unfamiliar environment,' Young wrote on Facebook. 'This particular hedgehog had been wandering around aimlessly for an unknown period and is starting to relax and eat now that it is in a calm area. We are working with reputable out-of-state organizations that specialize in the care of hedgehogs for appropriate placement.'
Young wrote, 'For the well-being of animals, please do not release any non-native wildlife into the environment. It is your responsibility to find a proper placement or do your research to understand the care involved for specialized animals and the laws for your state. Animals should not have to suffer after the thrill of owning them is gone.'
Columnist/reporter Mike Argento has been a York Daily Record staffer since 1982. Reach him at mike@ydr.com.
This article originally appeared on Pocono Record: Illegal hedgehog found in Pennsylvania will be sent out of state
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