European hedgehog populations have declined by over 50% since the 1990s, with road traffic mortality and habitat fragmentation being major contributing factors alongside agricultural change.
Hedgehog road deaths involve acute traumatic injury. The species tendency to curl defensively rather than flee when threatened makes them particularly vulnerable to vehicle strikes. Beyond road mortality, habitat fragmentation isolates populations, reduces genetic diversity, and forces longer crossings through unsuitable terrain. Each road death involves real suffering, and the cumulative population decline represents a trajectory toward local extinction in many areas.