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***The next conference will take place from 13th-14th of January 2024***

Welcome to the International Conference for Hedgehog Rehabilitators.

This conference is a collaboration between “The International Scientific Conference for Rehabilitators of European Hedgehogs” and “Hedgehog rehabilitation: Sharing best practice”.

A conference with the purpose of inspiring and strengthening the collaboration between hedgehog researchers and hedgehog carers to serve the common, important goal of preserving the European hedgehog in the wild.

Please join our Facebook group if you wish to take part in the knowledge sharing we hope this group will generate between e.g. hedgehog carers, hedgehog researchers and veterinarians or veterinary nurses treating hedgehogs.

The next conference will take place from Saturday the 13th of January to Sunday the 14th of January 2024. Registration is now closed as we have sold all the tickets.

We encourage all European hedgehog rehabilitators and other professionals working with hedgehog rehabilitation and conservation, such as hedgehog researchers, NGOs, veterinarians and veterinary nurses treating hedgehogs, to sign up for participation.

The conference will be hosted by Hartpury University and Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU), University of Oxford.

The conference is generously supported by the British Hedgehog Preservation Society.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Here you can download the conference proceedings from the latest conference in Billund, Denmark in September 2020:

Purpose and background

With this conference we wish to bridge the gap between hedgehog researchers and hedgehog carers internationally. We hope to establish a strong and respectful collaboration between the scientists and the care practitioners with the purpose of improving hedgehog conservation. It is essential that we work together and strengthen our teamwork to help save the declining hedgehog population.

The conference furthermore serves to present the most recent hedgehog research and hedgehog conservation initiatives from all over Europe to inspire and inform all participants at the conference.

Photo by Pia Burmøller Hansen

Programme

Programme for the International Conference for Hedgehog Rehabilitators

The conference will take place from Saturday the 13th of January to Sunday the 14th of January 2024. This is a provisionary programme which may be subject to change:

Saturday the 13th of January 2024

08:30: Conference registration opens

Coffee, tea and snacks are served

9:45-10:00: Welcome to the International Conference for Hedgehog Rehabilitators 

Session: UK hedgehog conservation NGOs and their initiatives

10:00-10:30: Nigel Reeve: “The BHPS – what we do”

10:30-10:45: Grace Johnson: “Introducing the National Conservation Strategy for Hedgehogs in Britain”

10:45-11:00: Paulina Malgorzata Pawlikowska: ”Introducing the National Hedgehog Monitoring Programme”

11:00-11:30: Coffee break 

Session: The importance of data 

11:30-12:00: Kate Davies: “Legislation and policy as drivers of wildlife rehabilitation practice across Europe”

12-12:30: Anne Berger: “The importance of keeping hedgehog station protocols for hedgehog conservation and population monitoring”

12:30-13:00: Lucy Bearman-Brown: “An examination of temporal trends in hedgehog admissions to wildlife centres: lessons learnt and future recommendations”

13:00-13:45: Lunch

13:45-15:15 Workshop 1 (hedgehog database) and 2 (What research is needed and how to get updated and access the publications?)

15:15-15:30: Short break

Session: Pollutants in hedgehogs 

15:30-16:00: Katharina Seilern-Moy: “Garden Wildlife Health – update on recent hedgehog disease investigations”

16:00-16:15: Sophie Lund Rasmussen: “Pesticides and biocides in the Danish population of European hedgehogs (Erinaceus europaeus)”

16:15-16:45: Emily Thrift: “Assessing the presence of plastics within the European hedgehog’s diet – supplementary food and wild prey”

16:45-17:15: Coffee break

Session: Medical conditions and treatments of hedgehogs

17:15- 17:30: Yannick Van de Weyer: “Efficacy of levamisole, ivermectin and moxidectin against Capillaria spp. in European hedgehogs (Erinaceus europaeus)”

17:30-17:45: Rikke Hansen: “Is Tessie an option for light sedation of hedgehogs by the caretakers? – And why does Sileo not seem to work?”

17:45-18:00: Dylan Yaffy: “Describing a syndrome? Investigating “pug-nosed”/”dwarf” hedgehogs””

And finally, an important and uplifting last talk of the day 

18:00-18:30: Hugh Warwick: “Why did the hedgehog cross the road?”

18:30-18:45: Rounding off and thank you for today! 

19:00: Conference dinner 

Sunday the 14th of January 2024

9:00: Good morning 

Session: Hedgehogs under the microscope

9:00-9:15: Rikke Hansen: “How to handle wounds and abscesses in hedgehogs”

9:15-9:45: Emily Harper: “Scratching the surface: A systematic review of hedgehog parasites”

09:45-10:15: Barbora Bolfikova: “Hedgehogs and genes on the islands”

10:15-10:45: Coffee break

10:45-12:15: Workshop 1 (hedgehog database) and 2 (What research is needed and how to get updated and access the publications?)

12:15-13:00: Lunch

Session: Applying research for hedgehog conservation

13-13:30: Brawin Kumar: “People’s Perceptions: Unveiling Threats and Conservation Strategies for the Endemic Madras Hedgehog (Paraechinus nudiventris) in Tamil Nadu, India”

13:30-14: Sophie Lund Rasmussen & Aage Kristian Olsen Alstrup: “Robotic lawn mowers and European hedgehogs- the process of designing a hedgehog safety test to create more hedgehog friendly robotic lawn mowers”

14:00-14:30: Coffee break 

Session: Hedgehog conservation and regulation

14:30-15:00: Abigail Gazzard: “Assessing the statuses of hedgehogs in Europe”

15:00-15:30: Vicky Grant & Thomas Churchyard: “Introducing the Uist Native Wildlife Project”

15:30: Rounding off the conference, thank you, and get home safely! 

Venue

The venue will be Hartpury University, Gloucester, United Kingdom.

Hotel accommodation should be booked individually.

For those interested, we will provide transportation in minibuses between the conference venue and the following hotels on both days of the conference:

Travelodge hotel, The Gloucester Quays, St Ann Way, Gloucester, GL1 5SF, United Kingdom

Premier Inn Gloucester (Longford), Tewkesbury Road, Longford, Gloucester, GL2 9BE, United Kingdom

You can book the transportation as one of the last steps of the conference registration.

Please do not hesitate to contact us for further advice on travelling to and from the venue.

Registration

The next conference will take place at Hartpury University, UK, from Saturday the 13th of January to Sunday the 14th of January 2024.

The conference registration is now closed and we are happy to report that we have sold all available tickets.

You have to make a user profile in the system in order to sign up. Once you have made your profile and have chosen your purchase (conference participation and the optional conference dinner), you will be directed to a page, where you can inform us about any dietary requirements, access requirements and whether you would like to order transport to and from the conference venue from the two hotels: Travelodge hotel (The Gloucester Quays) or Premier Inn Gloucester (Longford).

The conference fee of £60 will include two days of conference participation, a conference bag/delegate pack, lunch and refreshments (coffee, tea, snacks) on both conference days.

Additional options available:

  • Conference dinner on Saturday the 13th of January 2024 at £25.
  • Free transportation to and from the conference venue in minibuses from local hotels on both conference days at a fee (will be decided shortly). The hotels from where the minibuses will run:
    1. Travelodge hotel, The Gloucester Quays, St Ann Way, Gloucester, GL1 5SF, United Kingdom
    2. Premier Inn Gloucester (Longford), Tewkesbury Road, Longford, Gloucester, GL2 9BE, United Kingdom