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The
Basics
Articles on basic care and considerations for new or prospective owners. Articles pertaining to health, nutrition, and veterinary care. Articles and pictures about hedgehog breeding, growth, and development. Articles for people who already own a hedgehog or want to know more than just the basics. Learn more about hedgehog colors! Wondering where to buy a hedgehog? Start here! Where to purchase hedgehog supplies and collectibles. Meet the hedgehogs of Hedgehog Valley! Meet the other critters that call or
have called Hedgehog Valley
their home! |
Why are hedgehogs illegal in my state?
We do not know exactly why certain states have chosen to severely regulate or ban hedgehogs. The best place to ask this question is your state's fish and wildlife/game department. When questioned, various states have given answers ranging from "protecting native wildlife and/or agricultural crops" or "preventing possible diseases from new nonnative species" to "they are a threat to the pork industry" or "they are dangerous." Some of these arguments sound reasonable on the surface while some are completely ridiculous! Call the regulating agency in your state and see what they say to you. Knowing exactly what your state is telling people will help you if you want to work toward legalization. If hedgehogs are illegal and you want to do something about it, next contact your state representatives. It is best to send a letter or make a phone call because emails are often ignored and do not carry the same weight. Tell your representatives what you think about the current law in your state, in a well thought-out, reasoned way. Tell them why you think they should support the legalization of hedgehogs and other small, nondangerous exotics. What happens if you have a hedgehog in a hedgehog 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. Shipping hedgehogs into hedgehog-illegal states can get the shipper charged and fined, so we just do not do it. We have people who email us, upset that we will not ship them a hedgehog in a hedgehog illegal state. We do not like the idea of our hedgehogs being put at risk for confiscation, or for us to be put at risk of getting legal charges and fines, so please do not even ask. If you want your state to reconsider allowing hedgehogs, work on organizing people within your state to write letters to your representatives, encouraging them to support legalization. We will support you however we can to help get things legal, but we still can not ship hedgehogs to hedgehog-illegal states. Antigone Means Iola, KS All information on this web site is copyright of Hedgehog Valley. You may view/print the web pages for your personal use. You may also provide a link to these pages without prior approval. No one is allowed to re-post the information from Hedgehog Valley Web Site, including pictures, to any other web site, without the approval of Hedgehog Valley. Copyright 2002
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