Why are hedgehogs illegal in Pennsylvania?

This question was answered by Kelly McCorkle, our library intern.

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.

What are some hiking trails in Pennsylvania?

One of our outdoorsy patrons had heard that there were some good trails in the mountainous area of southwestern Pennsylvania, but they couldn’t remember exactly where. We checked The Firefly Atlas of North America, The Rough Guide to the USA, and the internet to find the answer.

The Alleghenies and the Appalachians are the two main mountain ranges running through southern Pennsylvania. Our patron may have been thinking of the Laurel Highlands a scenic portion of the Alleghenies known for its whitewater rafting, biking and hiking trails, and fishing. It encompasses several state parks, including Laurel Ridge, Laurel Hill, Laurel Summit, Laurel Mountains, and Ohiopyle. The Laurel Highlands Hiking Trail, a 70-mile-long segment of the Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail, is popular. It’s marked with yellow blazes every hundred feet and has shelter areas every six to twelve miles.

If our patron is looking for something else, Robert Isenberg put together a list of twenty nearby biking and hiking trails for Pittsburgh Magazine. The relatively quiet Panhandle Trail is twenty-nine miles long, stretching from Carnegie, Pennsylvania, to the West Virginia border. The Great Allegheny Passage runs 150 miles from Pittsburgh to Maryland. It’s covered with asphalt and crushed limestone and built mainly on old rail beds, making it a good level trail for bicycling.

For more information, John Young’s book Hiking Pennsylvania is available through CLEVNET. If our patron would like to look at trails closer to home, we have a book here on the Midwest Rail-Trails, which covers Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Wisconsin. We also have Diane Stresing’s Cleveland edition of 60 Hikes within 60 Miles.