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The Eastern Cape Department of Economic Development has issued the following statement with respect to an amnesty for people who have African Pygmy and Tenrec Hedgehogs as pets:
The Eastern Cape Department of Economic Development, Environmental Affairs and Tourism says owners, who were unaware of legislation making it illegal to have the African Pygmy Hedgehog as a pet, have until 28 February 2014 to voluntarily hand them over to the department.
Those who comply will not face prosecution. The decision was in consultation with the department's legal advisors.
The department says that people who have the African Pygmy Hedgehog as a pet are often unaware of the legal implications. It says that information circulating that a permit is not required for certain wild animals, commonly kept as pets, is also incorrect.
According to the Eastern Cape Nature and Environmental Conservation Ordinance 19 of 1974, it is illegal for any person to keep any wild animal in captivity in the Eastern Cape without a permit authorising them to do so.
It defines a wild animal as any live vertebrate or invertebrate animal (the egg or spawn of any such wild animal) belonging to a non-domestic species and includes any animal which is kept or has been born in captivity. This includes exotic wild animals such as the African Pygmy Hedgehog and the Tenrec.
In the case of the African Pygmy hedgehog, which is a cross between the White bellied (four toed) hedgehog /Atelerix albiventrus/, which occurs across the savannah of Central Africa,//and the Algerian hedgehog /Atelerix algirus /which occurs in the north west regions of Africa along the Mediterranean Coast,//the threat it poses to the indigenous hedgehog /Atelerix frontalis /is not known.
Therefore, the measure to stop any further of these hedgehogs entering the province is largely precautionary.
The department says the threat the hedgehog poses to the province's indigenous hedgehog /Atelerix frontalis /is unknown, yet may be significant.
It quotes examples from New Zealand and the Scottish Isles where hedgehogs have become invasive and have had a major negative impact on indigenous invertebrates and ground breeding birds.
The measure to refuse permits for the hedgehog is not unique to the Eastern Cape as many countries such as the United States of America have similar measures in place.
Hedgehog owners can voluntarily hand them over to environmental officers at any office of the Eastern Cape Department of Economic Development, Environmental Affairs and Tourism.
However, anyone found trading in hedgehogs, transporting them or keeping them in captivity, without permits from the department after the amnesty period has lapsed, will be prosecuted.
