A Word from Judy

A Word from Judy

Thank you everyone for your lovely messages and comments on another TV focus on hedgehogs. It also reached BBC Breakfast this morning.

Just to be clear, Powderham have 4 hedgehogs that cannot be released into the wild due to being not completely functional in some way. The team, headed up by Maria, are animal savvy and experienced, the garden is 2 acres of organic beauty and production. We believe that if an animal fights to live, wants to live and is safe and happy doing so, then we should support it in doing just that. How do we know it is happy? Animals that are not happy generally do not exhibit normal behaviours and the daily observations and footage clearly show them doing just that. Powderham are not a hedgehog Rescue.

We firmly believe that any publicity for hedgehogs is good as it keeps the public aware of their plight and how to help them appropriately. Even the footage of me comparing myself to a hedgehog and collapsing in giggles! Sorry about that.

Charities and rescues of all kinds need help and of course we are not the only ones that are raising money for running costs, buildings etc. Having done this within our own home, or rather, Alan’s home, for 16 years now we are constantly battling for space and also our own privacy.

As I have said before and will no doubt repeat, people who rescue are doing this for the benefit of the creatures or people they rescue, not for kudos, not for fame and certainly not for money as we are volunteers in this game!

I was heartened to see the loyalty of supporters for both ourselves and ELM who are also raising money for building and I need to remind everyone this is not a competition, we need more rescue centres not less, as with the loss of habitat, climate change and all other battles wildlife face, will mean that the need for help will only increase, sadly.

We have the ITV cameras here again tomorrow with ITV doing a similar piece, and also tomorrow Alan is talking to Fitz on BBC Radio Devon for almost an hour in between music and news and Rick Parker from ELM is also on during this time as well, good to be networking together.

All of this coverage is to highlight the hedgehogs not to highlight the humans but sadly hedgehogs cannot speak for themselves, good job too as I would be constantly sworn at for sticking injections into them!

Thank you for all the donations coming in we are beyond grateful, we have 2 outstanding grants and over £16000 so far, all in just a couple of weeks, in this time of hardship for us all it is amazing.

I can announce that land sale has been agreed in principle, plans have been drawn and subject to a bit of tweaking and we are closer than we have been before, just need to keep the momentum going.

Also my book, ‘A Prickle of Poems’ has gone to print and will be on sale at £9.95 plus postage and packing. Cant believe that. I have a second one on the way, early days but not poetry this time.

We also still have Janice’s news to come which will hopefully be in the next week or so.

We are at the Kingsbridge Steam Rally on Saturday, I wont be there as I have an important 6 year olds birthday to go to.

But I will be at ‘Celebrate Start Bay’ on Sunday which is a lovely event at the Start Bay Field Center in Slapton.

Meanwhile, TV and radio appearances aside, we continue to be inundated with hoglets and are so blessed to have Alison and Graeme, Nadine and Jacqui and Clive fostering the small ones. Alison and Graeme also look after the bigger ones, injured ones and triage and overnight for us something Lydia and Paul are also beginning now.

Just a heads up that although we do have a transport group, this is a group of volunteers who all have busy lives, jobs and families, who give up their time generously, and their fuel, so we cannot definitely promise to be able to pick up or give you a precise time. We ask that if you can, please drive the casualty to us or part way, or alternatively call your local vet to ask if they can take it in and give first aid until we can get it to us. There seems to have been some misinformation given about this. Sad to write this but while the majority of finders are lovely people, we of course get the odd one or two from time to time that think that rescues are akin to Spar shops and there is one on every corner or garage, sadly not, and that we are obliged to pick up immediately, we are an hour away from Plymouth and so this is actually physically impossible, and that we are a government run and funded service, oh for the funds lol. Please be kind to our drivers they are all angels to us.

Last, and by no means least, we cannot do what we do if you, the public, dont find the hedgehog and want to help it in the first place. Thank you for being kind enough to do this and get them to the rescues that can help them.

Take care lots of love xxx