I'm not sure how accurate this information is, but I found this website while Googling one day which said that hedgehogs are illegal in some US states. I can't remember what it was I was searching for now, but I just had to read this page.
Now people who know me well enough will know that I am quite fond of hedgehogs – I've still got the puppet hedgehog that I was given for my 6th birthday (all say “ah”). So, I was quite disturbed by what the page says:
“What happens if you have a hedgie in a hedgie-illegal state? That depends on the state. Some states simply ask that the animal be placed out of state within a specified amount of time (usually a few days). Some confiscate and destroy. Some confiscate and ship to rescues out of state. If your animal is confiscated, you will likely be fined. Some states even have it on the books that you can be given jail time, but I have never heard of anyone actually getting that penalty. I have heard of a lot of confiscation and fines. And people who ship hedgies into hedgie-illegal states can get fined, too, so we just don't do it.”
The page was last updated in 2002, so I expect this is out-of-date, but I hope that those states that “confiscate and destroy” the poor little buggers have since desisted.
Well, if you're having a bonfire this November 5th, remember, remember to check for hedgehogs before you light it!
2 Responses to “Illegal Hedgehogs”
Why am I not surprised. Some states even have laws governing which sexual positions married couples may use!
Still, the rationale for making hedgehogs illegal eludes me.
Hmm, I don’t like to think how those states imposing restrictions on sexual positions go about enforcing such laws!
Re: illegal hedgehogs. Well, I guess that there are fewer hedgehogs getting run over or burnt alive in bonfires in those states which have laws against them! It was the phrase “confiscate and destroy” that worried me!
I’ve just had a quick browse around that Hedgehog Valley site (and I thought I was mad about hedgehogs!), but I can’t find the page about their illegal status linked from anywhere. So, not sure how I managed to stumble across the page in the first place!