Garden Hedgehog Welfare and Conservation

How to make your garden hedgehog-friendly, supporting one of Britain's most beloved and declining mammals.

Key Facts

UK hedgehog populations have declined by over 50% since the millennium
Hedgehogs travel up to 2km each night foraging for beetles, earthworms, and slugs
Garden fencing and walls fragment hedgehog territories and cause starvation
Hedgehog highways - 13cm holes in fences - allow safe garden connectivity
Slug pellets containing metaldehyde or methiocarb are toxic to hedgehogs

Welfare Considerations

Hedgehogs suffer directly from suburban garden management - enclosed gardens trap hedgehogs without sufficient food, netting and litter trap and injure them, and garden chemicals poison their prey or directly harm them. Road mortality is a leading cause of death. The fragmentation of gardens into isolated patches by solid fencing creates hedgehog populations unable to maintain viable territories. Simple garden modifications can dramatically improve hedgehog welfare by enabling movement, increasing prey availability, and reducing hazard exposure.

What You Can Do

Create a hedgehog highway hole in your fence (13cm x 13cm)
Avoid slug pellets - use alternatives like copper tape or beer traps
Check log piles and leaf heaps before disturbing to avoid injuring sheltering hedgehogs
Leave wild corners of garden for hedgehog nesting and foraging
Join the British Hedgehog Preservation Society or local recording scheme