The Doncaster teacher who is saving Doncaster's endangered hedgehogs

A hobby which involves taking a close look at animal droppings may not be everyone’s cup of tea.
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But when Doncaster deputy head teacher Anni Crawford gets home from work, taking a look at them under the microscope is part of the routine.

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Anni, from Cantley, has set up what is thought to be Doncaster’s only ‘hedgehog hostel’ – a rehabilitation centre run from her garage dedicated to helping the endangered animals and nursing them back to health if they are poorly.

Anni Crawford looking after some of the hedgehogs at The Hog Hostel in DoncasterAnni Crawford looking after some of the hedgehogs at The Hog Hostel in Doncaster
Anni Crawford looking after some of the hedgehogs at The Hog Hostel in Doncaster
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She has her own helpline, and receives pleas for help from worried nature lovers across the borough, who have often stumbled across one of the prickly mammals in a stricken state.

If they can be saved, she collects the animals and admits them to her facility, sometimes taking assistance from vets PetMedics, in Adwick.

After meeting a woman who runs a similar facility in Howden, she spent time with her learning how to run things, before opening her own operation in September.

"She trained me up in the summer holidays,” said Anni. “Now I get up at 5am and spend two hours cleaning the hedgehogs out.

Anni Crawford looking after some of the hedgehogs at The Hog Hostel in DoncasterAnni Crawford looking after some of the hedgehogs at The Hog Hostel in Doncaster
Anni Crawford looking after some of the hedgehogs at The Hog Hostel in Doncaster
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"I spend part of my evenings looking down a microscope at hedgehog poo to find out what’s wrong with them, and then medicate them. I work with a vets practice. You can’t run a rescue without vets on board.

"I come home from work and check on them, feed them, and leave them until the next day. It is pretty non stop."

She receives call outs from her social media accounts and to a specially set up phone number. If she can save them, she takes them in. If they are too ill to be saved, she contacts a vet.

But she is also trying to educate people about hedgehogs, a species that is now regarded as endangered, and how to help them.

Anni Crawford looking after some of the hedgehogs at The Hog Hostel in DoncasterAnni Crawford looking after some of the hedgehogs at The Hog Hostel in Doncaster
Anni Crawford looking after some of the hedgehogs at The Hog Hostel in Doncaster
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Studying the droppings under the microscope allows her to find conditions such as lungworm, roundworm, ringworm and fluke, diseases that she can give them medicine for.

Some of these can be transferred to humans, so she always wears gloves, and says no one should touch a hedgehog with their bare hands.

"If a hedgehog presents itself during the daytime, they’re ill,” she said. “Hedgehogs don’t sunbathe.

"Calls come in fits and starts. You don’t hear anything for a while, then you get a load. One Sunday I had four in two hours.

Anni Crawford looking after some of the hedgehogs at The Hog Hostel in DoncasterAnni Crawford looking after some of the hedgehogs at The Hog Hostel in Doncaster
Anni Crawford looking after some of the hedgehogs at The Hog Hostel in Doncaster
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“It does get busy sometimes. And one Saturday I got home and found a hedgehog on my drive – it was almost as though it was self admitting itself.”

Some of her pupils at The Levett School, which has sites in Sprotbrough and Intake, have asked her about her work. Many are fascinated.

A number of those youngsters have asked if they can help.

As a result of that interest, there are plans to involve some of the pupils in making hedgehog houses as a project at school.

She has already had a number of volunteers helping her with her work, including the 14-year-old daughter of one of her friends. She says she has a team of foster carers who help her by fattening some of the animals up before they can be released.

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Once the animals have recovered, she takes them back to where they were found to release them, unless there is a dog or a dangerous road there. She keeps a record of the information, because hedgehogs know the area where they live.

Anni developed an interest in hedgehogs as a child.

"When I was little there were a lot of hedgehogs near where I lived. And moving to Doncaster a few years ago, I discovered there were loads here as well.

"I think it is true that there is a significant decline in numbers though. I didn’t see a single one when I lived in Sheffield a few years ago.

"My fascination started when my dad took a picture of my cat and a hedgehog sharing his cat food.”

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When she set the hostel up, she did so with donations from across the community. The cages in which the animals are kept while they recover in her garage were all donated, and the animals in her care are fed with donated food. She says people have been very supportive.

There was even a donation of a hedgehog house for three animals by supporters in Market Weighton. But she says hedgehog houses can easily be built in logs or even under bricks or shrubs.

She has also had a boost recently, as Doncaster Council agreed to ‘re-wild’ a copse of trees near her home. They have also told her she can place hedgehog houses there.

"The council has been brilliant in re-wilding some areas,” Anni said. “Things like not mowing grass and allowing wild flowers to grow is helpful. I asked them to leave a little copse near us wild and they agreed.”

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Anni’s next plan is to do more to educate people about what hedgehogs need, with plans for leaflets telling people who to create things like hedgehog highways in their fences. and to help them know when to help a hedgehog, and when just to leave it.

Anyone who finds a hedgehog or wants advice on a hedgehog can contact Anni on her Facebook page, @thehoghostel. The contact number, if there is space at the hostel, is 07561 066723 and the email address is [email protected].

The British Hedgehog Preservation Society (https://www.britishhedgehogs.org.uk/) also offers advice on what to do if you find a hedgehog.

In these confusing and worrying times, local journalism is more vital than ever. Thanks to everyone who helps us ask the questions that matter by taking out a subscription or buying a paper. We stand together. Nancy Fielder, editor.