A Leatherhead wildlife charity warned gardeners in the area after two hedgehogs were seriously injured by garden netting recently.
Two young hedgehogs were recently brought into vets at Leatherhead's Wildlife Aid Foundation (WAF) after they became "horrendously" tangled in wire mesh.
WAF vet surgeon Maru García Urbina carefully cut the netting away to assess their wounds, which were cleaned and treated.
Sadly, some stories are all too common here at Wildlife Aid. Horrendously tangled in fruit netting, these young hedgehogs suffered deep constriction wounds around their necks! Cases like this show us just how badly man’s carelessness can endanger the lives of our British wildlife pic.twitter.com/rLMrvnXC7z
— Wildlife Aid (@wildlifeaid) November 12, 2019
Images of the animals' wounds suggested they had become so badly tangled up in the plastic garden mesh that it caused deep lacerations to the skin under their spines.
WAF is now calling for gardeners to make sure any netting is raised well off the ground to allow hedgehogs and other animals to pass underneath without being caught, and to dispose of any garden waste responsibly.
A spokesperson for the charity said:
"It's cases like these that show us just how badly man’s carelessness can endanger the lives of our British wildlife.
"Please, make sure that all your litter is disposed of correctly, and if you see any lying around, do your bit to help - pop it in the nearest bin."
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