'It is a cruel and a completely unnecessary death': Fury after hedgehog painted in Leeds United colours dies

Want LBC stories before everyone else? Set us as your Preferred Source on Google

The adult female hedgehog, nicknamed Honey, was taken into the care of Prickly Pigs Hedgehog Rescue after she was found covered in paint and in severe distress.

Diane Cook, from the rescue, said the paint could not simply be washed off and instead had to be painstakingly scraped from each individual spine.

She said: "The paint was so thick and tough it had glued her spines together, restricting her movement and leaving her unable to curl up.

"She also had severe breathing problems, no doubt caused by the paint fumes."

Honey's plight sparked widespread outrage after it was shared online.

One person wrote: "Not that it's acceptable at any age, of course, but I expected it to be teenagers, not adults."

Another said: "We seem to have an epidemic in this country of people committing acts of pure cruelty to our wildlife."

Despite extensive treatment, Honey died from her injuries on July 22.

Announcing her death, Ms Cook said: "To say that I'm devastated is an understatement."It doesn't matter whether this was done to a hedgehog, a cat, a dog or any other animal - it simply should never have happened. It was a cruel and completely unnecessary death."

On its website, Prickly Pigs Hedgehog Rescue says it aims not only to care for sick, injured and orphaned hedgehogs, but also to raise awareness of the challenges facing Britain's native hedgehogs and encourage people to make their gardens more wildlife friendly.

Honey's death comes amid growing concern over attacks on Britain's hedgehogs.

Earlier this month, a hoglet in Maidstone, Kent, had to be put to sleep after it was allegedly kicked "like a football" by a group of children.

In May, three schoolgirls in Skelmersdale, Lancashire, were investigated after a hedgehog was allegedly thrown down a slide and buried alive.

The Western European hedgehog was reclassified from "Least Concern" to "Near Threatened" on the IUCN Red List in 2024, largely because of human activity.

West Yorkshire Police said four males, aged 44, 21, 17 and 15, were arrested on Tuesday on suspicion of causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal, contrary to Section 4 of the Animal Welfare Act 2006.

They have since been released on bail while enquiries continue.

Anyone with information is asked to contact West Yorkshire Police via 101 or Live Chat, quoting reference 13260401913.