Officers are appealing for witnesses after two hedgehogs were set on fire inside a cardboard box on a school playing field in Christchurch.
Police were called at 11.16pm on Saturday 6 July 2017 by the fire service reporting a small fire at Mudeford Junior School.
A cardboard box containing the hedgehogs was discovered to have been deliberately set alight in the middle of the grass playing field. The fire was extinguished by the fire service.
Officers continue to make a number of enquiries including checking the availability of CCTV.
Police Constable Geoff Avey-Hebditch, of Christchurch police, said: “The hedgehogs will have endured a painful and cruel death as we believe they would have been alive at the time.
“This was obviously a horrific act of animal cruelty and I am now appealing to anyone who may know who the culprits are or saw anyone acting suspiciously in the area at the time to contact Dorset Police.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact Dorset Police at www.dorset.police,uk, via email 101@dorset.pnn.police.uk or by calling 101, quoting occurrence number 55170104072. Alternatively, contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111 or via www.crimestoppers-uk.org.