The brutal beating of a female hedgehog in Chernihiv led to the death of the animal and four unborn hedgehog pups; however, the perpetrator did not escape just punishment. The Desnianskyi District Court handed down a sentence that serves as a warning to all animal abusers — five years in prison. Environmental activists regard this as an important decision, as the judicial system has finally recognised the value of a wild animal’s life.
Sentence for murder
The incident is described in the court’s judgement in case No. 750/9038/25 of 23 September 2026. Leaving aside all the extremely cruel and harrowing details, the situation is as follows: on 25 May 2025, a woman, fully aware of the immorality and illegality of her actions, brutally kicked the animal. The hedgehog sustained severe injuries and died on the spot. At the time, the female hedgehog was carrying four young.
The woman was found guilty under Part 3 of Article 299 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine — cruelty to animals with aggravating circumstances. The sentence is five years’ imprisonment.
Every life is precious
The Kyiv Environmental and Cultural Centre emphasises the significance of this verdict, as the court did not devalue the life of a wild animal.
"When it comes to a cat or a dog, the law enforcement system has more or less learnt to recognise a living creature that feels pain and suffering. However, when it comes to a hedgehog, a fox, a bat, a bird or any other wild animal living in the wild, a completely different attitude very often comes into play. As if it were an object in the surrounding environment,” the KEKC noted.
The ruling demonstrates that the judicial system is learning to recognise even small wild animals as having value, and offences against their health and lives as criminal offences.
It should be noted that new rules on the keeping and handling of animals are being drawn up in Kyiv. Among other things, these stipulate that, prior to registering an animal, the owner must attend a face-to-face interview, and dogs’ social behaviour will be assessed using a special programme.
Work is also continuing in Ukraine on Bill No. 11328, which aims to increase penalties for cruelty to animals and improve the mechanisms for their protection. EcoPolitic provided a detailed account of its provisions in this article.
