02 January 2013

De Egel


Egel is Dutch for hedgehog and they are very common in Western Europe where we live.  Since we are mostly in the city, we don't see them often . . . although once I saw one that had been hit by a car :-\

I think egels will eat nearly anything, but they mostly eat insects.  They are also protected here in Belgium.  Earlier this year, I was horrified to see this photo on the front page of our newspaper!


Turns out a 67-year-old woman impaled this hedgehog in her garden with a pitchfork!  What was she thinking?  Apparently she couldn't explain what she was thinking either.  Her neighbor heard the poor thing screaming and was also horrified and called the police.  Despite the best effort of  the Wildlife Rescue Center, this hedgehog did not make it.  The woman was charged with animal cruelty and despite three separate articles on this one incident, the newspaper never reported on what her punishment was.

I've read they take animal cruelty pretty seriously around here so at the very least, she probably won't do this again and will likely serve a deterrent to anybody else thinking it's a good idea.

And speaking of egels, I saw this next set of photos on Pinterest.  

Warning.  Cute overload.













2 comments:

  1. Ohmygosh that's so cute. Why didn't we get a hedgehog instead of Gatsby?

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