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Hedgehog help in the Canton of Jura

Have you found an injured, sick or conspicuous hedgehog in the Canton of Jura? Here you can find out when a hedgehog needs help, which regional point of contact you can call and how to protect its habitat.

There is currently no independent, publicly listed dedicated hedgehog care station documented in the Canton of Jura. The veterinary practice Vétérinaires Mont-Terri in Courgenay is listed as the regional point of contact for hedgehogs in need of help.

Depending on its state of health, the hedgehog can be medically assessed and treated there. For longer-term care or rearing, a specialised care station outside the canton may need to be arranged.

Please always call first. Do not bring a hedgehog to a veterinary practice or care station without notice.

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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.

Point of contact for hedgehogs in the Canton of Jura

Admission capacities and availability can change at short notice. Please register every hedgehog by phone or via the contact form provided before bringing it to a station.

  • Vétérinaires Mont-Terri in Courgenay

    Vétérinaires Mont-Terri is listed in regional hedgehog directories as a point of contact for hedgehogs in need of help in the Canton of Jura.

    It is a veterinary practice and not a traditional hedgehog station with permanently available care places. The practice can medically assess and treat an injured or sick hedgehog. For subsequent care, a specialised station may need to be called in.

    Call before you set off and describe the hedgehog’s condition as precisely as possible. Also check whether the practice can currently take in the animal and which body will take over any further care.

Is there a hedgehog station in the Canton of Jura?

According to the current publicly available directories, there is currently no independent dedicated hedgehog care station with published regular admission times in the Canton of Jura.

Vétérinaires Mont-Terri can provide initial medical care. For longer-term care, rearing or overwintering, stations in the neighbouring regions may be an option.

Which facility is suitable depends on:

  • the condition and age of the hedgehog
  • the urgency of treatment
  • where it was found
  • available care places
  • the transport distance required
  • the station’s responsibility and authorisation

Do not transport a weakened or injured hedgehog to another canton without prior arrangement. Long journeys mean additional stress, and admission is not guaranteed without a confirmed care place.

Other care stations in the neighbouring regions

The following facilities are not located in the Canton of Jura. However, after prior arrangement, they may serve as alternative or advisory points of contact.

  • Acœur Sauvage in Tavannes

    Acœur Sauvage is located in the Bernese Jura and cares for native wild animals.

    • Acœur Sauvage
    • Route de Tramelan 30, 2710 Tavannes
    • 076 592 09 61

    Before setting off, please explicitly check whether hedgehogs are currently being admitted and whether a care place is available.

  • MUZOO in La Chaux-de-Fonds

    Depending on capacity, the MUZOO wildlife care station in La Chaux-de-Fonds can also look after hedgehogs.

    Call before you set off and ask whether a hedgehog from the Canton of Jura can be admitted.

If the hedgehog station cannot be reached:

  • Veterinary emergency service – Clinique vétérinaire de Delémont032 421 36 30If a hedgehog is seriously injured and no regional specialist service can be reached, you can contact an animal clinic or the veterinary emergency service.Route de Bâle 153, 2800 DelémontChargeable emergency number: 0900 21 36 30info@cliniquevet.ch
  • Jura cantonal police – operations centre032 420 65 65The operations centre can be reached around the clock. Wildlife accidents must be reported.infopolice@jura.ch
  • Hedgehog Help Switzerland056 552 16 02Monday to Friday, 10:00–12:00 and 13:00–16:00igelstation@igel-hilfe.ch
  • Pro Igel Helpline0800 070 080Daily from 16:00–20:00Pro Igel – Igel in Not
  • TierRettungsDienst0800 211 22224-hour emergency line
  • Police117For a seriously injured wild animal on a road, after a collision or if there is an acute danger to traffic

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: August 2026

This page brings together information and points of contact for hedgehog protection in the Canton of Jura. It is not an additional hedgehog station, nor is it a cantonal authority.

The veterinary practices, care stations and animal welfare organisations listed are independent facilities. Responsibilities, availability and admission capacities may change at short notice. Please therefore always contact them by phone first.

Cantonal contact points

The veterinary office is the right cantonal authority in particular for questions of animal welfare law, reports of problematic animal keeping or questions about care stations requiring a permit.

  • Veterinary service of the Canton of Jura

    The cantonal veterinary service is part of the Service de la consommation et des affaires vétérinaires. It is responsible for enforcing animal welfare and animal health legislation.

    The veterinary service is not a hedgehog station and does not normally take on the direct care of individual found animals. If you find an injured or sick hedgehog, you should therefore first contact Vétérinaires Mont-Terri or a hedgehog emergency advice service.

  • Environment office of the Canton of Jura

    The Office de l’environnement is responsible for nature conservation, wildlife management and the application of cantonal and federal provisions relating to wild animals.

    Outside these hours, in an acute wildlife emergency, please contact the cantonal police on 032 420 65 65.

    The environment office is not a regular hedgehog drop-off point. However, it can provide information on general questions about native wild animals or if you are unsure who is responsible.

Report hedgehog sightings in the Canton of Jura

Sightings can be entered on the Nos voisins sauvages platform.

  • Such reports help to:

    • to add to the known distribution of hedgehogs
    • to identify regional gaps in knowledge
    • to document potential danger spots
    • to lay the groundwork for future studies
    • observe changes over several years

  • If possible, note down:

    • the date and time
    • the exact location of the sighting
    • the condition of the hedgehog
    • any particular dangers at the site
    • if possible, a photo taken from a safe distance

A sighting report is no substitute for emergency help. If a hedgehog is injured or weakened, a specialist body must also be contacted.

The Canton of Jura as a habitat for hedgehogs

The Canton of Jura is characterised by the lower-lying areas of the Ajoie, the Delémont basin, the plateaus of the Franches-Montagnes, farmland, forests, hedges, orchards and smaller settlements.

Hedgehogs live mainly in structurally diverse residential areas and on the edges of villages. They find suitable habitats in particular in:

  • natural private gardens
  • green residential neighbourhoods
  • parks and cemeteries
  • traditional standard-tree orchards
  • native hedges
  • vegetated embankments
  • structurally diverse village edges
  • transitions between settlements and farmland

Suitable residential areas can be found, for example, in and around Delémont, Courgenay, Porrentruy, Alle, Bassecourt, Courroux, Courrendlin, Boncourt, Saignelégier and other municipalities.

Hedgehogs are likely to find suitable habitats more often in lower-lying, milder areas. On the higher, cooler and more open terrain of the Franches-Montagnes, their presence probably depends more heavily on sheltered residential locations and small-scale structures.

Dense forests and large, intensively farmed and structurally poor agricultural land offer hedgehogs little food and hardly any suitable places of refuge.

Meadow slope with individual trees, hedges and forest edges near Courgenay in the Ajoie
A hedgehog among stones

How many hedgehogs live in the Canton of Jura?

There is currently no scientifically verified total figure for the Canton of Jura. Hedgehogs are nocturnal, move across several properties and are not counted comprehensively.

Nor does the number of hedgehogs treated at veterinary practices or referred to care stations allow a reliable extrapolation. A high number of reported animals can have various causes:

  • more injured or weakened hedgehogs
  • greater awareness of the points of contact
  • a greater willingness among the public to report them
  • unfavourable weather conditions
  • late litters in autumn
  • more dangers from traffic and garden tools
  • a lack of food or places of refuge

No regional study has yet been published for the territory of the Canton of Jura that provides a reliable hedgehog density or population size.

A hedgehog in the grass

The Parc Jura vaudois is not part of the Canton of Jura

Results of a hedgehog survey from 2021 are available for the Parc Jura vaudois. Hedgehogs were detected in 19 of the 20 areas surveyed.

However, these results relate to the Vaud Jura and not to the Canton of Jura. They must therefore not be used either as a population figure for the Jura canton or as direct evidence of distribution within the canton.

The survey merely shows that, under suitable conditions, hedgehogs can also occur in higher Jura regions between approximately 500 and 1’000 metres above sea level.

Hedgehog-friendly area right next to a road with lorries

Dangers for hedgehogs in the Canton of Jura

The most common dangers include:

  • busy roads
  • robotic lawnmowers and string trimmers
  • pesticides, insecticides and slug pellets
  • closed fences and walls
  • light wells and basement stairways
  • pools, ponds and open water basins
  • protective netting and loose string
  • completely sealed surfaces
  • a lack of hedges and hiding places
  • garden lighting at night

Particular care is needed when mowing under hedges, shrubs and on embankments. Hedgehogs often do not flee from garden tools but curl up instead. This makes them almost invisible in long grass.

Robotic lawnmowers should only be used during the day. Before mowing with brush cutters or string trimmers, areas that are hard to see must be checked by hand.

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

Protecting habitats together in the Canton of Jura

Hedgehog protection works across property and municipal boundaries. Private individuals, municipalities, schools, businesses as well as farms and horticultural businesses can help preserve safe routes and places of refuge.

In the largely agricultural Canton of Jura, native hedges, herbaceous margins, traditional standard-tree orchards, brush piles and extensively managed field margins are particularly valuable.

New developments and redesigns should take into account not only individual green spaces but also their connection to neighbouring habitats.

Permeable property boundaries, unsealed surfaces and native plants help not only hedgehogs but also amphibians, insects, birds and other native species.

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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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