Animal welfare activists have blasted researchers after a hedgehog was found with so many tracking devices attached to it that it died.
Russet the hedgehog was discovered dehydrated and underweight with 26 plastic tags attached to his spine along with a radio tracker.
The animal was taken to Oxton Wild Hedgehog Rehab where it died.
Lynda Britchford, from the centre, said Russet appeared “like someone’s idea of bad joke”.
The woman who brought in the hedgehog said it was unable to curl up and described it as like “putting Christmas lights around him”.
It later emerged Russet was being monitored as part of a research study at Nottingham Trent University to gather information on the abundance of hedgehogs in Southwell, Nottinghamshire.
The British Hedgehog Preservation Society (BHPS) has defended the study which it part-funded.
BHPS's Hugh Warwick said: "Over 30 years of work there is no evidence that our research interferes with the well-being of hedgehogs at all."
But activists reacted with fury after one researcher described the tubes on Facebook as “harmless”.
Helen Barnes wrote on Facebook: “They are wild animals. You have absolutely no right to interfere.
“Leave them alone. Wild means wild. These beautiful little creatures do not need to be tagged to help you with your greedy selfish studies.”
Ms Britchford admitted she had concerns about the study but said she wanted to maintain a “dialogue” with researchers.
She said: “Russet did not die as a direct result of the study.
“However, I am not convinced that he was visibly checked on in the four days leading up to his admission - if he had been, his deteriorating condition should have been noticed, and appropriate help sought.”
