A pregnant hedgehog who was kicked and hit with stones has died along with all her babies several days after being rescued.
The hedgehog was attacked by a group of boys in Shenley, Hertfordshire, on June 20, and would have died then and there if passersby had not intervened.
She was taken to a rescue centre where they tried to treat her injuries, including loss of sight in one of her eyes, spinal damage, a broken leg, fractured jaw and a laceration to her stomach.
One of her babies was stillborn, but it was hoped that the other two would survive.
But now the rescue centre said that all have died after being too badly hurt.
The mum was put to sleep after her condition deteriorated and she was unable to eat.
‘We’re devastated,’ London Colney Hedgehog Rescue said in a Facebook update.
‘The injury in the roof of her mouth was too severe to heal and impossible to stitch. The break had caused an open area to her nasal cavity resulting in her unable to eat.
‘Even syringe feeding was not fair with the amount of discomfort it was causing her.
‘We felt this injury was never going to heal together (through past experience), but we gave her a chance over the past week.
‘Both the vets and I made the decision to let her go whilst she was under anaesthetic.
‘And trust me (if anyone knows me) and as a hedgehog rescue, we don’t give up lightly on mending all sorts of injuries and rehabilitating them back into the wild.
‘This will not deter me from releasing hedgehogs into Shenley because I know that there are so many lovely people willing to look out for them and keep them safe.’
Police are appealing for information about the attack which happened in Porters Park Drive close to the junction with Tagalie Place at around 7pm.
PC Dan Hill said: ‘If you were in the area at the time and saw what happened or have dash cam footage or CCTV or any other information that could help us to identify those involved please get in touch as soon as possible.’
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