Page 3 Profile: Barbara Roberts, hedgehog saviour
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.What’s the prickly issue of the day?
A human incarnation of Beatrix Potter’s hedgehog washerwoman Mrs Tiggly-Winkle has made it her mission to tackle the hedgehog population crisis. Barbara Roberts has cared for thousands of the creatures in her home in Withington, Manchester, but has warned action needs to be taken to ensure the animals’ survival.
Has she always been an animal lover?
A qualified wildlife rehabilitator, Ms Roberts founded the Withington Hedgehog Trust in 2002. In her home, which she transformed into a sanctuary for the injured creatures, she has stockpiled food, medicine, equipment and incubators and she devotes her time to nursing the hedgehogs back to health before releasing them into the wild.
Can she house many hedgehogs?
“The most hedgehogs I’ve had at one time is 600 and that was about three years ago,” Ms Roberts told The Times. She explained she is currently looking after 250 hedgehogs and attributes that figure to their declining numbers.
How does she fund this enterprise?
Out of her own pocket – she spends about £12,000 of her own money rehabilitating wildlife every year. “I get very, very little donations,” Ms Roberts said. “At the moment there’s one standing order of £10 a month.”
So this is a labour of love?
“I feel like I’m their mum,” said Ms Roberts, who was appointed MBE in the New Year’s honours list. “I hand-rear them and wipe their bottoms and feed them like newborn babies... But I always remember that they are wild animals. They’re not mine.”
She added that releasing the hedgehogs into the wild was “like sending them to university”.
What do the numbers look like?
In the 1950s there were about 30 million hedgehogs in the UK, according to the British Hedgehog Preservation Society. By 1995 this had fallen to about 1.5 million; recent figures suggest that there are fewer than one million today.
“It’s getting worse and it’s not going to stop,” said Ms Roberts. “There won’t be any hedgehogs in future unless we do something about this.”
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments