A couple in Fife have transformed their home into a hedgehog hospital, rescuing and rehabilitating hundreds of the spiky mammals in need.
Sharon and Andy Longhurst run the Burntisland Hedgehog Haven from their garden and garage, where they’ve created a maternity ward, an intensive care unit, and even coordinate a fleet of volunteer “hedgehog ambulances.”
Since opening nearly three years ago, they’ve treated 567 hedgehogs, with around 65% surviving to be released back into the wild. The couple—parents of three—often stay up all night hand-feeding orphaned hoglets and say their work has become a full-time commitment.
“If there’s a hedgehog out there that needs help, we can’t say no,” said Sharon, 49, who also works as a lollipop lady. Andy, a bus driver in Edinburgh, added: “If we don’t help it, it will just die.”
The couple are fully trained, licensed to care for up to 40 animals at a time, and supported by 18 volunteers. They also helped establish the Scottish Hedgehog Rescue Alliance, with centres in Perth, Dundee and Dunbartonshire, to cope when they reach capacity.
Hedgehogs arrive in all kinds of conditions—covered in fly larvae, tangled in football nets, injured by gardening tools, bitten by dogs, or weakened by exhaustion, disease or chemicals. The Longhursts handle the rehabilitation, but serious cases requiring antibiotics, stitches or major wounds are referred to vets.
Running the centre costs £800 a month in food, bedding, and electricity for seven incubators, plus £3,500 annually in vet bills. To cover expenses, the Longhursts fundraise through races, raffles, tombolas and community events.
Their dedication has earned them a place on the shortlist for the BBC’s Make a Difference Awards in Scotland, with winners due to be announced in Glasgow and on BBC Radio Scotland on 29 September.
European hedgehogs are in steep decline, now classed as “Near Threatened” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) due to habitat loss, fragmentation, and intensive agriculture. Although they can live up to five years, many survive just one year in the wild.
“We’ll do this until we’re unable to,” said Sharon. “Hedgehogs are adorable and there isn’t enough help out there.” Andy added: “They’ve got so much against them—and so many myths too. People think they’re full of fleas, but out of 567 hedgehogs, we’ve only seen one with fleas.”