Assault With A Hedgehog?

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) -- A New Zealand man has been accused of assault with prickly weapon - a hedgehog.

Police allege that William Singalargh picked up the hedgehog and threw it several yards to hit a 15-year-old boy in the North Island east coast town of Whakatane on Feb. 9.

"It hit the victim in the leg, causing a large, red welt and several puncture marks," police Senior Sgt. Bruce Jenkins said Monday. The teen did not need medical treatment, he added.

Police chiefs are worried that hedgehogs could become "the weapon of choice" among street criminals, and are thinking of arming their own men with hedgehogs. They are also asking members of Parliament for new laws regulating ownership of hedgehogs, and an outright ban on assault hedgehogs, saturday-night hedgehogs, and hedgehogs with "cop-killer" spines.

"They serve no legitimate purpose," said Police Chief Harold Smith of Hastings. "We must get these hedgehogs off the streets where they can't be a menace to the public, especially the children."

David Rawlings of the New Zealand Hedgehog Association took umbrage with Smith's statement. "He's throwing out the baby with the bathwater," he said. "It's obvious that this new set of laws is aimed at legitimate hedgehog owners, and that confiscation of hedgehogs is what the Government plans, leaving the populace defenseless against criminals armed with hedgehogs. After all, criminals won't turn in their hedgehogs."

Eunice McGuire contributed to this article.