Wild Hedgehog Welfare: Garden Helpers Facing Silent Decline

Hedgehog populations have declined by over 50% in the UK since 2000. Understanding the threats they face and how to help them survive in fragmented suburban landscapes is critical for their welfare.

Key Facts

UK hedgehog populations have fallen from an estimated 30 million in the 1950s to under 1 million today.
Hedgehogs are insectivores that travel up to 2 kilometres per night searching for food across multiple gardens.
Garden boundary fences and walls fragment hedgehog territories, preventing natural ranging and mate-finding.
Road traffic, slug pellets, garden strimmers, and bonfires are leading causes of hedgehog mortality.
Hedgehogs hibernate from approximately November to March; disturbance during hibernation can be fatal.
Metaldehyde slug pellets have been banned in the UK due to their toxicity to hedgehogs and other wildlife.
The "Hedgehog Street" campaign has created over 100,000 hedgehog highways — gaps in fences connecting gardens.

Welfare Considerations

Hedgehog welfare in suburban landscapes depends primarily on the cumulative effect of thousands of individual householder decisions. Impermeable garden boundaries, rodenticide and pesticide use, and hazardous garden equipment collectively create a hostile environment for a species that requires connected habitat across multiple properties to survive. Simple interventions — 13cm gaps in garden fences, removing slug pellets, checking bonfires before lighting, covering drains — have documented positive effects on local hedgehog populations. Hedgehogs that become trapped, injured, or underweight at the approach of winter require rehabilitation; local hedgehog rescue networks provide this service but operate largely without public funding.

What You Can Do

Create a 13cm gap in your garden fence to allow hedgehog passage — the "hedgehog highway."
Never use slug pellets or rodenticides in your garden; use beer traps or copper tape instead.
Leave an area of garden wild with leaf litter and log piles that hedgehogs can use for food and shelter.
Check for hedgehogs before strimming, mowing, or lighting bonfires.
Support your local hedgehog rescue and the British Hedgehog Preservation Society or equivalent in your country.