A HEDGHOG has died after it was painted in the Leeds United football club colours.
Honey, a female hedgehog, went through “unnecessary suffering” prior to her tragic death, when yobs covered her in thick, oil-based blue and yellow paint in Leeds, West Yorkshire.
Four men have been arrested after a hedgehog was painted in the colours of Leeds United Credit: SWNS
Honey the female hedgehog has sadly died Credit: SWNS
The poor creature was discovered in garden on July 13 and taken in by rescuers.
Honey was unable to curl into a ball to protect herself deu to her spines “glued” together by the paint.
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She also struggled to breathe because of the fumes.
Volunteers at Prickly Pigs Hedgehog Rescue painstakingly scrubbed the paint from each individual spine and gave her pain relief.
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But sadly, owner Diane Cook, 51, has now revealed Honey has since died.
She said: “To say that I’m devastated is an understatement and I just cannot believe, or understand, what some people are capable of doing to any living thing.”
Diane added: “We are still working with the local police so can not share any more details about her.”
West Yorkshire Police Wildlife and Rural Crime Team launched an investigation to catch the culprits.
Last weekend, four men aged 44, 21, 17 and 15 were arrested on suspicion of causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal.
Only the front of her face, stomach and legs had been left untouched, leading rescuers to believe she had been deliberately targeted rather than accidentally brushing against wet paint.
Diane said: “I know from some comments that people have found what happened to her funny or commented that she’s ‘only a hedgehog’, but it does not matter.”
“It is cruel and a completely unnecessary death. When are people going to stop and think about their actions and the impact they are having on nature?”
Diane said the tragedy had left her questioning whether she could continue running the centre.
She said: “It’s times like this when I wonder what is the point of running the rescue. It’s a 24/7 job 365 days a year.”
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