More than a dozen hedgehogs found in trash can in California

Animal welfare officials say they rescued 15 hedgehogs that were abandoned in a trash can in Southern California.

According to WITI, the San Diego County Department of Animal Services says an animal control officer found the creatures on Thursday in Ocean Beach.

The director of the agency, Dan DeSousa, said more than a dozen of the tiny animals were recovered from a plastic bag that was dumped in the bin.

Five of them were found dead and another was later euthanized.

Authorities are currently looking for the person who abandoned the hedgehogs -- an act that DeSousa called unconscionable.

The nine hedgehogs that survived are now recovering.

The San Diego County Department of Animal Services added that it is illegal to possess hedgehogs in California without a permit.