While
attending college in Pennsylvania, an Ohio native and Newton Falls Public
Library patron became aware that it was illegal to have a pet hedgehog in the state
of Pennsylvania. However, she did not know why this was the case. To answer
this question, we started with a simple Google search which led to the website
for The International Hedgehog Association, a non-profit organization devoted
to creatures. IHA reports that hedgehogs do not emit odors like most small
rodents, are easy to litter train, have a gentle demeanor, and require no
immunization shots. Given these rather positive characteristics, why would
hedgehogs be considered illegal?
A
news article on Pennlive.com about illegal animals in Pennsylvania provides the
short answer to this question. According to the article, the concern regarding
hedgehogs is that “they could hurt the local ecosystem if they were somehow
released into the wild.” Furthermore, Hedgehogged.com states that the law was
originally intended to prohibit the importation of hedgehogs into Pennsylvania
but that breeders continued to do so which led to banning hedgehogs entirely.
The
current Pennsylvania Law against the importation of wildlife can be found in
Title 34: Game under Chapter 21, Subchapter D, and Subsection 2163. However,
this law does not specify hedgehogs or any other animals directly.
We
found our information on the IHA website, the article “These pets are banned
in Pennsylvania” by Teresa Bonner, and the article “Places Where It’s Illegal to Own Hedgehogs and the Laws Around Them," as well as the Pennsylvania Law on wildlife importation.
General
information about hedgehogs can be found in the following books: Hedgehogs: Everything About Purchase, Care,and Nutrition by Sharon Lynn Vanderlip, GuideTo Owning an African Pygmy Hedgehog: Housing, Feeding, Breeding, Exhibition,Health Care by
Dennis Kelsey-Wood.
