Hedgehogs move closer to pet status

Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle

The Fairfax County Planning Commission approved a motion recommending a change in the zoning ordinance to allow hedgehogs, chinchillas, and hermit crabs to be considered “commonly accepted pets.”

That means those animals could be kept as pets without the need of a special permit. The Board of Supervisors will consider the zoning amendment Jan. 22.

Hedgehogs are actually prohibited as pets as they are classified as exotic animals. The other two are currently allowed but require a permit.

Three commissioners voted against including hedgehogs in the amendment, including Julie Strandlie (Mason). Among their concerns: The Animal Shelter opposes the measure because it would have to take in abandoned hedgehogs and lacks the resources to care for them, hedgehogs could spread diseases to humans, and veterinarian care is not available for them.

Commissioner Steve Ulfelder (Dranesville) spoke in favor of allowing hedgehogs as pets citing The Tale of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle, Beatrix Potter’s story of a washerwoman hedgehog based on Potter’s own pet.

Arlington and Loudoun counties permit hedgehogs; Prince William County and the cities of Fairfax and Falls Church do not.

“Commonly listed pets” identified in the zoning ordinance include domesticated rabbits; hamsters; ferrets; gerbils; guinea pigs; mice; rats; turtles; fish; dogs; cats; domestic chickens, ducks, and geese under two months old; birds such as canaries, parakeets, doves, and parrots; worm/ant farms; non-poisonous spiders; chameleons and similar lizards; and non-poisonous snakes.