A hedgehog painted blue and yellow in the colours of Leeds United was left gasping for breath and unable to curl up, a rescue centre has said, after four men were arrested over the weekend. The animal was found by a woman at her home in Yeadon, Leeds, with thick oil-based paint – similar to emulsion or road-marking paint – glued to its spines.
Staff at Prickly Pigs Hedgehog Rescue in Otley, who took in the adult female, had to scrub each spine clean and administer pain relief. Diane Cook, 51, who owns the shelter, described the paint as so "thick and tough it had glued her spines together", leaving the hedgehog unable to move properly.
“Four men arrested after hedgehog spray-painted blue and yellow, left struggling to breathe.”
"Because the creature had restricted movement, it had no way of defending itself from predators and could have easily been killed," Cook said. "Or even worse, slowly starved to death or succumbed to malnutrition." The hedgehog also suffered breathing problems from the paint fumes, and could not "curl up" to protect itself.
West Yorkshire Police's Wildlife and Rural Crime team confirmed that four men – aged 44, 21, 17 and 15 – were arrested over the weekend on suspicion of causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal, contrary to Section 4 of the Animal Welfare Act 2006. All four have been bailed pending further enquiries.
A police spokesperson said: "Four arrests have been made after a hedgehog was sprayed blue in the Yeadon area, Leeds." They urged anyone with information to call 101 or use the Live Chat option on the force website, quoting reference 13260401913, or to contact Crimestoppers anonymously.
Cook, who runs the rescue centre from her converted garage, called the actions "absolutely appalling", whether football-related or not. The incident comes as hedgehogs are already in decline across Britain. According to the latest State of Britain's Hedgehogs report, numbers have fallen by up to 30% in urban areas and 50% in rural areas since the turn of the century, earning the species a ‘Vulnerable’ listing on Britain’s red list of mammals.
