European hedgehogs face severe population declines in urban and suburban environments driven by habitat fragmentation, road mortality, pesticide use and garden hazards that welfare-conscious actions can help mitigate.
Wild hedgehogs are suffering a population crisis driven largely by the cumulative effects of individually small human decisions about garden management. Each solid fence panel that replaces a hedgehog-permeable hedge disconnects foraging habitat. Each slug pellet laid on a flowerbed can kill not just the targeted slug but the hedgehog that eats it. Each bonfire heap lit without checking may incinerate a hibernating animal. Individually these harms seem trivial; collectively they have reduced wild hedgehog populations to a fraction of historical numbers. The welfare implications extend beyond population numbers — each individual hedgehog poisoned by pesticide or struck by a vehicle suffers acutely. Simple, inexpensive garden modifications can meaningfully reduce these harms.