Wild Hedgehog Conservation and Garden Welfare

British hedgehog populations have declined by over 50% since the millennium, with garden-friendly practices and connectivity corridors offering significant welfare and conservation benefits.

Key Facts

UK hedgehog populations have declined from an estimated 36 million in the 1950s to under 1 million today
Fenced and walled gardens that prevent hedgehog movement fragment their foraging territory fatally
Hedgehogs travel 1-2 km nightly to forage — connected garden networks are essential for their survival
Garden chemicals including slug pellets and insecticides remove prey and directly poison hedgehogs
Hedgehog highways — 13cm holes in fences — enable movement between gardens at minimal cost
Supplementary feeding of water and cat or dog food (not milk or bread) supports hedgehog welfare

Welfare Considerations

Hedgehog conservation is a garden-level welfare intervention where individual action genuinely matters at population scale. The species' dependence on connected garden networks means every fence barrier that is modified to allow passage directly improves hedgehog welfare by expanding available territory. The combination of habitat fragmentation, prey reduction from pesticides and direct poisoning creates compounding pressures that garden-friendly practices can meaningfully address. Urban and suburban gardens, when managed collectively as connected habitat, can support viable hedgehog populations.

What You Can Do

Create a hedgehog highway by cutting a 13cm hole in your fence to connect with neighbours' gardens
Stop using slug pellets and insecticides that remove prey and directly harm hedgehogs
Provide a hedgehog house and supplementary water and food in autumn to support winter preparation
Check bonfires before lighting and compost heaps before turning for sheltering hedgehogs
Join your local hedgehog recording scheme to contribute population monitoring data