Hedgehog Welfare: Urban Threats to a Beloved Wild Species

European hedgehogs have declined by over 50% since 2000, facing a gauntlet of urban hazards from roads to garden chemicals. Understanding threats enables individuals to meaningfully improve hedgehog welfare and survival.

Key Facts

European hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus) populations have declined by an estimated 50% in the UK since 2000
Road traffic kills an estimated 100,000-335,000 hedgehogs per year in the UK alone
Garden strimmers, lawnmowers, and bonfires kill or injure thousands of hedgehogs annually during daytime dormancy
Hedgehogs travel 2-3 km nightly in search of food — garden fences that block movement are a significant threat
Slug pellets containing metaldehyde and brodifacoum rodenticides cause hedgehog poisoning deaths
A hedgehog seen out in daylight during non-hibernation months is almost always in distress and needs veterinary attention
Hedgehog highways — 13 cm gaps in garden fences — cost nothing and significantly improve hedgehog welfare
Hedgehog hospitals treated over 45,000 hedgehogs in the UK in 2022 — giving an indication of the scale of human-caused injury

Welfare Considerations

Urban hedgehogs face a world of human-created hazards that cause acute suffering and population-level decline. Road traffic injuries are traumatic — broken limbs, spinal damage, internal injuries — and rarely result in immediate death. Strimmered hedgehogs suffer severe lacerations and often require euthanasia. Poisoning from rodenticides causes internal haemorrhage and is a prolonged death. Garden netting and bonfires trap and burn hedgehogs. Yet hedgehogs are adaptable and resilient when given safe habitat. The welfare and conservation case for individual action is unusually strong for hedgehogs: connecting gardens, removing pesticides, checking for hedgehogs before strimming and lighting bonfires, and providing food and water are all direct, immediate welfare interventions that cost little and demonstrably help.

What You Can Do

Create a hedgehog highway: a 13 cm gap at the base of your garden fence to allow free movement
Check thoroughly for hedgehogs before using a strimmer or lighting a bonfire
Stop using metaldehyde slug pellets and rodenticide bait stations in your garden
Provide fresh water and supplementary food (meat-based cat food, hedgehog food) — never bread or milk
Contact your local hedgehog rescue or a wildlife vet if you find a hedgehog out in daylight
Support British Hedgehog Preservation Society and Hedgehog Street to receive habitat guidance