File this under the “Strange But True” category. Just when you thought you had heard it all comes a gem like this: “After years of campaigning fast food giant McDonald’s is redesigning its McFlurry ice-cream containers because of pressure from hedgehog lovers.”
Huh? Yes, that’s what my initial reaction was too. Surely, this must be some sort of joke. Or, perhaps, I am just missing something. But, oh, no, it’s true. Hedgehogs have apparently humbled the popular eatery into reconstructing its “killer” ice-cream treat covers. “Killer?” Apparently so. According to the British Hedgehog Preservation Society up until now the opening in the container has been large enough for hedgehogs to get their heads into for a taste of the sweet dessert. Unfortunately, once they were in, society members say, the animals were unable to get out, so they were dying of starvation in untold numbers.
But now hedgehogs and the people who love them can breathe a sigh of relief. According to McDonalds as of September 1st, “the wide-mouthed opening in the lid of the McFlurry containers will be reduced in size, making them too small for hedgehogs to get their heads into.”
The news was met with excited by British Hedgehog Preservation Society members who had this to say: “We have been in touch with McDonald’s about this problem for over five years and are delighted that they have at last solved the problem.”
For their part, McDonald’s told the media that the design change was a direct result from pressure from the society which prompted “significant research and design testing” to develop new packaging.
“The smaller aperture of the lid has been designed to prevent hedgehogs from entering the McFlurry container in the unfortunate incidence that a lid is littered and is then accessible to wildlife,” McDonald’s executives said in a prepared statement.
Score one for the sweet-toothed hedgehog… and never underestimate the power of pressure.