Hedgehog Welfare: Declining Populations and Garden Conservation

UK hedgehog populations have declined by over 50% since 2000. Garden management, road traffic, and agricultural change are key drivers — and individuals can make a real difference.

Key Facts

UK hedgehog populations have declined from an estimated 30 million in the 1950s to fewer than one million today
Road traffic kills an estimated 100,000 hedgehogs annually in the UK — one of the leading causes of mortality
Garden fencing without hedgehog-sized gaps prevents access to the multiple gardens needed for adequate territory
Slug pellets containing metaldehyde cause hedgehog poisoning — now banned in the UK but still available in some countries
Hedgehogs hibernate from November to March, requiring undisturbed nesting sites and sufficient fat reserves built through autumn
Bonfire heaps built in advance are frequently used as hibernation sites — checking before lighting is critical
Garden ponds without exit ramps cause hedgehog drowning
Hedgehog street populations show strong correlations with garden connectivity — hedgehog highways through fence panels significantly improve habitat use

Welfare Considerations

Hedgehog welfare at the individual level is closely linked to population-level decline — as habitat quality falls and connectivity decreases, individual hedgehogs face greater distances to travel for food and mates, increasing road crossing frequency and starvation risk. Road traffic mortality is traumatic for individual animals and represents a significant source of pain and suffering across hundreds of thousands of individuals annually. Entrapment in garden netting, drowning in ponds, and lawnmower injuries cause direct, acute suffering to individual animals. Hibernation welfare depends on access to appropriate nesting sites — hedgehogs disturbed from hibernation in winter face life-threatening energy expenditure. Garden management that maintains connectivity, reduces hazards, provides supplementary food in dry summers, and protects nesting sites provides direct individual welfare benefit while contributing to population-level recovery. The welfare case for garden hedgehog conservation is both individual (reducing direct harm and supporting animals that may be struggling) and population-level (maintaining connected populations that can sustain themselves).

What You Can Do

Create a hedgehog highway — a 13cm gap in garden fences that allows hedgehogs to move between territories
Cover or remove netting at ground level that hedgehogs can become entangled in
Install a pond exit ramp so that hedgehogs that fall in can escape
Never light a bonfire without moving and checking the pile on the day of burning
Provide supplementary food (wet cat food or hedgehog food, not bread or milk) during dry summers
Record hedgehog sightings on citizen science platforms to help track population recovery