WORLD WORLDWIDE GREECE - ANIMALS - ANIMAL SURVIVAL INTERNATIONAL - Activists warn hedgehogs in Greece are dying at an unprecedented rate.

 

View this email in your browser We are inundated with rescued injured hedgehogs. They need your help to recover and return to the wild. Please help by making a donation now! Share Tweet Forward Dear friends,  With fewer and fewer safe spaces for hedgehogs in Attica, Greece, their habitats are disappearing before their eyes. They are in terrible and increasing danger. These small, helpless creatures, weighing no more than 2.2 pounds (one kilogram), are battling in rural and urban areas outside Athens. They cannot withstand the effects of climate change, rampant habitat loss, pesticides, and an increasing human population - not without YOUR help. Credit: ANIMA Adorable baby hedgehogs and pregnant mothers caught in garden fencing, poisoned by pesticides, and dying from mange – please help us save these fragile creatures! Image for illustrative purposes only. Credit: Pam Clutterbuck Recently, our partner in Greece, ANIMA (Wildlife Rehabilitation Association), was called to the aid of a pregnant hedgehog caught in garden fencing in a suburban area. ANIMA managed to rescue her, but the stress of her ordeal caused her to have a miscarriage.   There are many more tragic cases. Of five hedgehogs they received one weekend, four struggling with mange, all sadly died.   Quasimodo, meanwhile, has neurological issues which he may have been born with and which cause him to have fits. He requires dedicated medical care and sleeps on heating pads. Fragile Quasimodo has neurological challenges and requires ongoing veterinary care.  Credit: ANIMA Armadillo was discovered by kind people in a rural part of Attica. Due to mange, he had lost all his quills and was completely naked. He is treated with baby oil and kept on heating pads to aid his slow recovery. This may look like an avocado but, horrifically, it is Armadillo the hedgehog, with severe mange. Credit: ANIMA Helpless hedgehogs are mowed down by vehicles, die stuck in fencing, or get killed when they inadvertently ingest pesticides or chemicals. Please, help us save these defenseless creatures. ANIMA rescues and cares for around 300 hedgehogs every year of the northern white-breasted variety. This is a high number of hedgehogs by Greek standards, and the figures are only increasing as the effects of climate change and human activity worsen.  Image for illustrative purposes only. Climate change and human activity have destroyed hedgehogs’ ecosystems and homes.  Without our help today, countless more will die helpless and alone. Please, help now! Credit: ANIMA It costs around $120 (£95) per month to treat, feed, care for and shelter a rescued hedgehog. These fragile little animals require heating in winter and specialized care when they are affected by mange. Once healthy, hedgehogs are released into ANIMA’s protected areas outside the city, usually southwest of Attica, where the habitat is better suited to their survival. For every $120 (roughly £95) you donate, you can support a hedgehog's treatment and care for a month.   Can hedgehogs count on you today? At ASI, we believe every animal deserves to live and thrive – and as a concerned custodian of our planet, we know you agree. Please, help us support these little creatures in big trouble right now. Donate to Animal Survival International today. Saving animals and the planet, General Manager Animal Survival International P.S. Hedgehogs are known for rolling into tight little balls and using their spines to protect themselves against predators. But they are helpless against the threats of climate change, habitat loss and dehydration – they need YOUR help to survive in an increasingly hostile world. Please help support their rescue, care and rehabilitation in Greece – donate now. Please help by making a donation now! Subscribe to our newsletter! Banner Credit: ANIMA Please share this appeal with your colleagues, friends and family. Share Tweet Forward