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Hedgehog help in the canton of Aargau

Have you found an injured, sick or conspicuous hedgehog in the canton of Aargau? On this page, you will find regional hedgehog stations, important emergency numbers and information on how you can protect hedgehogs in Aargau’s gardens and settlements.

Today, hedgehogs in Aargau live mainly in villages, residential areas, gardens, parks and at the structurally diverse edges of settlements. There they find hedges, leaf piles, hiding places and food. At the same time, traffic routes, sealed surfaces, impassable garden fences, pesticides and robotic lawnmowers operated at night are among the greatest dangers they face.

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A hedgehog in tall grass

Found a hedgehog – what should you do now?

Not every hedgehog needs human help. A healthy hedgehog is mainly active at dusk and at night. If you see a hedgehog during the day, this does not automatically mean that it is sick.

Action is needed in particular if the hedgehog:

  • is injured or bleeding
  • seems apathetic or does not roll up
  • staggers, walks in circles, wheezes or breathes heavily
  • is infested with flies, fly eggs or maggots
  • is noticeably thin or weak
  • lies unprotected in the sun for a long time
  • is a young hedgehog found obviously without its mother

  1. If possible, contact a hedgehog station before transporting the animal. The station can assess whether the hedgehog needs to be taken in and whether a care place is currently available.

    Hedgehog stations

  2. Until the handover, wearing gloves, you can place the hedgehog in a sufficiently high cardboard box. Line it with newspaper and a towel and put the box in a quiet place. Offer fresh water in a shallow dish. Never give the hedgehog cow’s milk and do not treat it yourself with medication or anti-parasite products.

Hedgehog stations and contact points in Aargau

Please always call a station before bringing a hedgehog there. Capacities, admission times and responsibilities can change at short notice.

  • Igelstation Auw

    Igelstation Auw cares for injured, sick and weakened hedgehogs from the region and prepares them for their later release into the wild.

  • Igelnothilfe Brugg

    Igelnothilfe Brugg is a small station run by volunteers with six to ten treatment places. It provides care, medical treatment and rearing for hedgehogs in need.

  • Igelhilfe Mittelland

    Igelhilfe Mittelland in Dürrenäsch cares in particular for found animals from Aargau and the neighbouring regions.

  • Igelhilfe of the Stiftung Satis in Seon

    The Stiftung Satis has been running a hedgehog rescue service in Seon since 2019.

    Current note: the foundation’s website currently states that no new animals are being admitted for operational reasons.

  • Igelstation Bünzen

    In the Freiamt region there is a further contact point for hedgehogs in need.

    Please check by phone whether the station can currently take in hedgehogs.

If the hedgehog station cannot be reached:

Emergency numbers that charge a fee may incur higher call charges. For a seriously injured hedgehog, you can also contact a veterinary practice or animal clinic. Before setting off, call to ask whether they treat hedgehogs or wild animals.

Note on this regional information page · As of: July 2026

This page brings together information and contact points for hedgehog protection in the canton of Aargau. It is not a separate branch or a cantonal authority. The hedgehog stations listed are independent organisations or private care stations. Admission conditions and capacities can change at any time.

Cantonal contact points

  • Veterinärdienst des Kantons Aargau

    The Veterinärdienst des Kantons Aargau is responsible for questions about animal health, animal welfare and the legally correct handling of wild animals. However, it is not a hedgehog emergency station and does not normally provide direct care for individual found animals.

    If you find an injured or weakened hedgehog, first contact a hedgehog station or the hedgehog emergency advice service.

  • Game wardens

    The canton of Aargau has no permanent cantonal game warden service. Instead, the game warden duties are carried out on behalf of the canton by the hunting supervisors of the individual hunting districts.

    You can find the responsible hunting supervisor for your region on the official page of the cantonal hunting supervision.

Why Aargau is challenging for hedgehogs

Aargau lies between the large urban areas of Zurich, Basel, Bern and Lucerne. Especially on the Swiss Plateau, densely built-up settlements, busy transport routes and intensively farmed land meet.

Hedgehogs, however, need interconnected habitats. In a single night they can cover long distances in search of food. Walls, close-meshed fences, light wells, steps, busy roads and completely tidied gardens can interrupt their routes or become deadly traps.

Gardens and green spaces in municipalities such as Aarau, Baden, Brugg, Lenzburg, Zofingen, Wohlen, Rheinfelden and the surrounding villages are therefore important refuges.

Aerial view of the Wasserschloss near Brugg: the Aare and Reuss rivers, settlements, transport routes, fields and forest edges on the Swiss Plateau
A hedgehog among stones and branches

How many hedgehogs live in the canton of Aargau?

There is currently no official or scientifically established figure for the canton of Aargau as a whole. Hedgehogs are nocturnal, roam over large areas and are not systematically recorded individually. Sighting reports therefore do not allow a reliable calculation of the total population.

However, specialist bodies and care stations report that more and more weakened, injured and underweight hedgehogs are being found. Rather than quoting an unverified population figure, we want to help make sightings, danger spots and regional support services more visible.

Natural green space with branches, boulders and young shrubs next to a company building, with a village in the background

Protecting habitats in Aargau together

Private individuals, schools, municipalities, companies, farms and horticultural businesses can help to make Aargau safer for hedgehogs. What matters is not just individual natural gardens, but connected and permeable green spaces.

Hedgehog Help Switzerland provides information material, helps raise public awareness and shares knowledge about protecting, caring for and correctly handling hedgehogs.

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We are also available by phone and are happy to help you with advice and practical support.

Whether you are looking for our hedgehog magazine full of helpful tips, information about hedgehog talks or materials for school projects – we provide everything free of charge to promote the welfare of hedgehogs.

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Expert knowledge on the care and treatment of hedgehogs

Free hedgehog courses for veterinary practice assistants throughout Switzerland

Hedgehog Help Switzerland offers free hedgehog courses for veterinary practice assistants throughout Switzerland. These courses are specially tailored to veterinary practice assistants who want to familiarise themselves with the particularities of hedgehog care and acquire professional knowledge of the medical treatment and care of hedgehogs. In veterinary practices, hedgehogs need special attention and expert care that differs from other wild animals – and this is exactly where our hedgehog courses for veterinary practice assistants come in.

In our courses you will learn everything about caring for and treating hedgehogs in a way that suits the species. We cover important topics such as correct feeding, stress management during treatment and recognising typical hedgehog diseases. Our hedgehog courses are offered both at our hedgehog station and directly at your veterinary practice – we work throughout Switzerland and adapt to your location and your schedule.

Registration form for hedgehog courses

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Help make the canton of Aargau a safer and better place for hedgehogs to live! Become part of our hedgehog community and help protect these fascinating animals.

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