Wild Hedgehog Welfare: Garden Hazards and Population Decline

European hedgehog populations have declined by at least 30% since 2000. Garden hazards including strimmers, bonfires, and slug pellets cause direct welfare harm, while habitat fragmentation reduces food availability.

Key Facts

UK hedgehog populations have fallen from approximately 30 million in the 1950s to fewer than 1 million today
Hedgehogs travel up to 2 km nightly in search of food and mates — garden fencing prevents movement
Strimmers and garden bonfires kill thousands of hedgehogs annually in the UK alone
Metaldehyde slug pellets are toxic to hedgehogs and were banned in the UK in 2022
Hedgehogs hibernate from November to March and are vulnerable if woken by mild weather
Hedgehogs eat up to 200 grams of food per night — primarily earthworms, beetles, and caterpillars

Welfare Considerations

Individual hedgehog welfare is shaped by access to food, safe nesting sites, and freedom from garden hazards. Strimmer injuries — typically to legs and underbelly — are severe and frequently fatal. Hedgehogs that fail to accumulate sufficient fat reserves before hibernation die during winter from starvation. Feeding supplementary wet cat food or hedgehog food during autumn helps individuals prepare for hibernation. Creating hedgehog holes in garden fences — 13 cm squares — allows the nightly movement hedgehogs require. These small individual actions, multiplied across millions of gardens, address population-level welfare harm.

What You Can Do

Create a 13 cm hedgehog hole in garden fences to allow nightly foraging movement between gardens
Check bonfire piles for hedgehogs before lighting and always light from one side to allow escape
Provide supplementary food of wet cat food or specialist hedgehog food in autumn and harsh winters
Eliminate slug pellet use and switch to physical barriers or biological controls
Always check long grass with a stick before strimming to detect nesting or sheltering hedgehogs