Skip to content
Found a hedgehog? Mon–Fri 10:00–12:00 / 13:00–16:00 · 056 552 16 02
Donate now

Hedgehog help in the canton of Zug

Have you found an injured, sick or orphaned hedgehog in Zug, Baar, Cham, Steinhausen, Rotkreuz or another municipality in the canton of Zug? Stay calm, carefully secure the animal and contact a hedgehog station or veterinary practice by phone as quickly as possible.

In the canton of Zug, Igel Hilfe Kanton Zug in Rotkreuz is the first point of contact for hedgehogs in need. Please never bring a hedgehog without notice. First clarify by phone whether the animal really needs help and what happens next.

Donate Order information material
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 in the canton of Zug

Admission capacity and availability can change at short notice. Please register every hedgehog by phone before you take it to a station.

  • Igel Hilfe Kanton Zug, Rotkreuz

    The Igel Hilfe Kanton Zug association runs the canton’s first hedgehog rescue station in Rotkreuz. It supports injured hedgehogs and hedgehogs in need, advises on questions about found animals and provides information on how to make gardens hedgehog-friendly.

    Important: Call before any transport. The hedgehog hotline is there for emergencies and reports of found hedgehogs.

  • Tierschutzverein Zug – Tierheim Allenwinden

    Since September 2010, the Tierschutzverein Zug has held the cantonal licence to keep hedgehogs for therapeutic purposes. According to its own information, it provides fast and professional help when pets, farm animals or wild animals are in distress.

    • Tierheim Allenwinden
    • Riedmatt, 6319 Allenwinden
    • 041 711 00 33
    • Telephone hours: Monday to Saturday 10:00–12:00 and 13:00–16:00
      Closed on Sundays and public holidays
    • info@tsvzug.ch
    • tsvzug.ch

  • Igel Hilfe Kanton Luzern

    If Igel Hilfe Kanton Zug cannot be reached, it refers callers to its colleagues at Igel Hilfe Kanton Luzern.

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: October 2026

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

The hedgehog stations and animal welfare organisations listed are independent or privately run services. Responsibilities, availability and admission capacities can change at short notice. Please therefore always get in touch by phone first.

Cantonal contact points

For questions relating to animal welfare law, the veterinary service is the right cantonal office. For wild animals, the Amt für Wald und Wild, with its hunting and fishing supervision, is responsible.

  • Veterinärdienst des Kantons Zug

    The veterinary service is part of the Amt für Verbraucherschutz. Among other things, it is responsible for animal health and animal welfare. Anyone who observes a breach of animal welfare regulations can report it to the veterinary service.

    • Amt für Verbraucherschutz, Veterinärdienst
    • Zugerstrasse 50a, 6312 Steinhausen
    • 041 594 23 20
    • Monday to Friday: 7:30–11:45 and 13:30–16:30
    • info.vetd@zg.ch
    • zg.ch

  • Amt für Wald und Wild

    The Amt für Wald und Wild, with its hunting and fishing supervision, is responsible for wild animals in the canton of Zug.

Report hedgehog sightings in the canton of Zug

Sightings from the canton of Zug can be reported on Wilde Nachbarn Zug. The project has been running since 2020; partners include the canton of Zug (Natur und Landschaft), Pro Natura Zug, WWF Zug, the Zuger Vogelschutz and numerous municipalities in the canton of Zug.

  • Such reports help to:

    • document the distribution of hedgehogs
    • identify gaps in their occurrence
    • locate possible danger spots
    • observe changes over several years

  • If possible, note down:

    • the date and time
    • the exact location of the sighting
    • the condition of the hedgehog
    • 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 hedgehog station must also be contacted.

The canton of Zug as a habitat for hedgehogs

In the canton of Zug, hedgehogs live mainly in the settlements and green spaces of the lower-lying areas: in Zug, Baar, Cham, Steinhausen, Hünenberg and Risch-Rotkreuz, in gardens, parks and allotment gardens, as well as along forest edges and hedges around the villages.

The canton is densely populated and continues to grow. New developments, roads, walls and solid fences separate habitats from one another. On their nightly search for food, hedgehogs need to be able to cross several gardens and green spaces.

Suitable habitats are provided by:

  • natural gardens and green spaces
  • native hedges and shrubs
  • leaf piles, brush piles and deadwood piles
  • permeable property boundaries
  • sheltered, dry spots for day nests and hibernation
Aerial view near Zug with meadows, forest edges, a settlement and Lake Zug
A hedgehog in the grass

How many hedgehogs live in the canton of Zug?

It is not known how many hedgehogs live in the canton of Zug. There is no comprehensive population count from which a reliable number could be derived.

Since 2022, the hedgehog has been classified as near threatened in Switzerland. In the city of Zurich, the population has declined by around 40 per cent over the last 25 years or so. Habitat loss, traffic and intensive garden maintenance are making survival increasingly difficult for hedgehogs; these developments are also noticeable in the canton of Zug.

A hedgehog being weighed in a bowl at the hedgehog station

What you can do for hedgehogs in the canton of Zug

Simple measures can achieve a great deal for hedgehog protection:

  • create near-natural garden areas with leaves, wood and shrubs
  • provide gaps in garden fences
  • avoid using robotic lawnmowers at dusk and at night
  • keep leaf piles as natural winter quarters
  • do without pesticides and slug pellets

Such measures not only help hedgehogs, but also benefit many other species and biodiversity as a whole.

Naturally designed area with deadwood, stones and shrubs

Protecting habitats together

Protecting hedgehogs works best together. Private individuals, municipalities, schools, businesses and horticultural businesses can make an important contribution by designing green spaces and gardens in a near-natural way.

Hedgehog Help Switzerland is committed to making knowledge about hedgehog protection and biodiversity accessible and to inspiring people to protect our native wildlife.

Order information material

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.

Call Order information material

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

Fields marked * are required.

Order information material

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

Order

Fields marked * are required.

Buy something beautiful, do something good.

Clothes from Rico are regional, organic and vegan. 100 % of the proceeds go directly to Hedgehog Help Switzerland – with every purchase you help hedgehogs.

To the Rico shop