Out of the land of the long white cloud, comes the following news item:

Teenager assaulted with hedgehog: police

6th April 2008, 7:55 WST

A New Zealand man charged with assaulting a teenage boy with a hedgehog threw the animal at him from about five metres away, a newspaper has reported.

"It hit the victim in the leg, causing a large, red welt and several puncture marks," police sergeant Bruce Jenkins told the Herald on Sunday.

He said that William Singalargh, 27, of Whakatane was arrested shortly afterward on February 9, for assaulting the 15-year-old with a weapon - "namely the hedgehog".

Ever since I was a kid visiting my grandmother in rural Yorkshire. I have been wary of these little beasts. To see that one of them conspired with a man to attack a youth comes as no surprise.

Thankfully, in Australia we only have to worry about echidnas and they are considerably less aggressive. A hedgehog in a full flight of fury is simply terrifying.

I think they should be declared as vermin and destroyed. They are responsible for far too many of society's problems  - including drink spiking.