Faculty of Veterinary Hygiene and Ecology, Department of Animal Protection and Welfare and Veterinary Public Health, University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences Brno, Brno, Czech Republic.
Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Animal Hygiene, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia.
PLoS One. 2021 Mar 11;16(3):e0248422. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0248422. eCollection 2021.
The European hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus) is a species found in abundance throughout Europe. Nevertheless, it has seen a decline in some regions. This study aimed to analyze trends in intake and outcomes for hedgehogs admitted into rescue centers in the Czech Republic. In the period from 2010 to 2019, 16,967 European hedgehogs were admitted in 34 rescue centers in the Czech Republic. Most hedgehogs were admitted in September (25.30%) and October (22.14%), the fewest in March (0.96%). Most admitted hedgehogs were hoglets (59.49%). The treatment was successful in 44.39% of admitted hedgehogs; those were subsequently released into the wild. On average, they stayed in rescue centers for 48.77 days (median of 30 days). Death or euthanasia was an outcome for 25.27% and 3.15% of admitted hedgehogs, respectively. Only 0.59% of the hedgehogs remained in captivity with a permanent handicap. The highest release rate was achieved in hedgehogs admitted after falls into pits and other openings (83.19%), whereas the least success was achieved in poisoned hedgehogs (13.21%). An increasing trend (rSp = 0.9273, p < 0.01) was found in the number of hedgehogs admitted to rescue centers during the monitored period. Furthermore, not all of them required human care. Given the fact that less than a half of the admitted hedgehogs could be released, raising public awareness of this issue could help to avoid unnecessary interventions (especially in hoglets).
欧洲刺猬（Erinaceus europaeus）在欧洲广泛分布，但在一些地区数量有所减少。本研究旨在分析捷克共和国救援中心收容的刺猬摄入和结果的趋势。在 2010 年至 2019 年期间，捷克共和国 34 个救援中心共收容了 16967 只欧洲刺猬。大多数刺猬在 9 月（25.30%）和 10 月（22.14%）被收容，3 月（0.96%）最少。大多数被收容的刺猬是幼崽（59.49%）。治疗成功的刺猬占收容刺猬的 44.39%；随后将它们放归野外。平均而言，它们在救援中心停留 48.77 天（中位数为 30 天）。死亡或安乐死分别是 25.27%和 3.15%的收容刺猬的结果。只有 0.59%的刺猬因永久性残疾而被永久圈养。在因掉入坑洞和其他开口而被收容的刺猬中，释放率最高（83.19%），而中毒刺猬的成功率最低（13.21%）。在所监测期间，被收容到救援中心的刺猬数量呈上升趋势（rSp = 0.9273，p < 0.01）。此外，并非所有被收容的刺猬都需要人类照顾。鉴于不到一半的被收容刺猬可以被释放，提高公众对此问题的认识可能有助于避免不必要的干预（尤其是对幼崽）。
