According to the head of a Swedish animal protection group, behaviour in “immigrant-dense areas” is responsible for an increase in cruelty cases toward hedgehogs and other animals.
Earlier this week, Swedish media spoke to Annica Sjöberg, the head of the animal welfare group Djurens Vänner in the municipality of Nässjö, who claimed that youths were using local hedgehogs as footballs and kicking them around, Nyheter Idag reports.
Sjöberg spoke to the online publication saying, “These are immigrant-dense areas, unfortunately,” and added that the group used to visit schools and write notes in various languages in order to inform migrant children of the laws on animal cruelty.
“So there is some difference in how animals are handled in Sweden and in other countries. We have quite good animal welfare legislation here in Sweden which we are used to and grow up with, but it is not in all countries, unfortunately,” Sjöberg added.
While it is mainly hedgehogs that have been on the receiving end of cruel behaviour, Sjöberg noted that other animals had been exposed to cruelty as well, including hares, cats, and swans, indicating that footage of them having their throats cut was circulating on social media.
She went on to add that the group may start visiting local schools again in the near future to inform children, saying, “maybe that is something we need to start up again, make small information sheets for children and tell them how to handle them and what you can and can’t do. I think that’s pretty important.”
Other countries in Western Europe have also had difficulties with migrant behaviour toward animals, specifically the Muslim community during the end of Ramadan where some have been accused of cruelty while butchering sheep and other animals for the religious holiday of Eid.
Last year in France, for example, dozens of sheep were rescued from a garage in the northern suburbs of Paris where the underground slaughter of animals during Eid celebrations has become a major issue.