Shocking reports from a rescue centre in western Sweden about cruel abuse of hedgehogs have put the Nordic country's reputation as an animal-friendly nation in a different light.

“In some cases, they've been kicked around like a football or poked with sticks,” Conny Jonasson, who works at the Kottecentralen rescue centre in Lilla Edet, told The Local.

The centre suspects that at least ten of the 118 hedgehogs it has cared for so far this year have been deliberately injured by humans.

However, staff say that many other hedgehogs had died before they arrived at the premises.

While hedgehogs are seen as pets in some countries, in Sweden they are usually treated as a nice addition to the wildlife in people's gardens, and many Swedes put out bowls of water for the animals.

bbabo.Net