Prickly business: Hong Kong’s rules on owning hedgehogs prompt group to end adoption services
- Hong Kong Hedgehog Association will stop putting up abandoned animals for adoption after years of fighting for licences in legal ‘grey area’
![The Hong Kong Hedgehog Association has been in operation since 2016. Photo: K. Y. Cheng](https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/styles/1020x680/public/d8/images/canvas/2024/06/27/b1772956-0836-41eb-9190-d4e78163f8dc_c72fd0d6.jpg?itok=jOm0JGIN&v=1719473080)
Hong Kong authorities have been prickly over rules on owning hedgehogs in the city, prompting one association to stop offering adoption services for the animals after battling to secure a licence for years.
The Hong Kong Hedgehog Association announced its decision late on Wednesday night after receiving a warning from the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department.
The association, which was formed in 2016, said it would continue to rescue a small number of abandoned hedgehogs, but none would be put up for adoption.
“The abandonment problem has always existed. Taking care of more than 10, or even 28 at most, animals requires money, but we cannot get approval from the government on all sorts of licences. It has put us in an awkward position,” a statement on Instagram said.
“I worry that abandoned hedgehogs will appear again in the mountains, parks or we’ll even see their dead bodies.”
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