The spread of construction and new buildings in green areas is causing Malta’s hedgehog population to become inbred, according to Nature Trust Malta.

Vince Attard, the CEO of the organisation that cares for injured wildlife, said they had noticed this worrying trend which is leading to increased health problems among the hedgehogs that come to their treatment centre.

“Before, when there were less buildings, there were what we call natural corridors, which would allow hedgehogs to move between villages, for example from Marsaxlokk they would go to Marsascala or Żejtun,” Attard said.

“Now we are cutting off the connections between green areas, which causes a lot of interbreeding because the community continues to mate with the same individuals in the area.”

Attard added that aside from the genetic problems that could lead to hedgehog population collapse, the closing of these natural green corridors for wildlife has led to greater incidence of diseases such as ringworm.

“It is a huge battle that we are helpless to fight,” he said. “We have hundreds of hedgehogs that come in to be treated for ringworm every year and it’s a long process because it takes them between 12 to 16 weeks to heal.”

This is why, Attard continued, it was more critical than ever for Malta to protect its countryside.

“We appeal to the authorities to consider that, aside from having green open spaces for people to enjoy, we need to take care of our natural open spaces because they are home to our biodiversity.

“The more it shrinks, the more footprint of our natural areas that we lose, the more we risk losing this species.” Attard also thinks the same could happen to other endemic animals in Malta, such as the native species of shrew. Due to its insular nature, if Malta does not increase efforts to protect its countryside, these species could be lost for ever, he said.

The volunteers who work with the rescued hedgehogs at the Xrobb l-Għaġin Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre are currently studying the ringworm problem among the Maltese hedgehog population.

If left untreated, the fungus can be deadly as it causes their skin to dry up and lose all their spikes, weakening them.

But with treatment, the hedgehogs eventually are able to regrow their spikes and are released back into the wild once they test negative for ringworm. “These cases are increasing. Roughly 500 of the 1,200 calls for rescues we receive are about hedgehogs,” Attard said.

“We do see a mix of babies needing to be rescued after the mother has died or hedgehogs who have been attacked by dogs or cats, but half of the patients we have right now need to be treated for ringworm.”