UK Wildlife Welfare

Hedgehog Road Mortality and Urban Welfare

Hedgehog populations in the UK have declined by over 50% since the 1990s, with road mortality being one of the most significant factors alongside habitat loss.

Key Facts

UK hedgehog populations have fallen from an estimated 30 million in the 1950s to under 1 million today
Road mortality is estimated to kill hundreds of thousands of hedgehogs annually in the UK
Hedgehogs travel up to 2km per night in search of food and mates
Garden boundary walls and fences fragment habitat and prevent safe movement
Hedgehog highways (13cm gaps in fences) allow movement between gardens
Speed reduction and wildlife-sensitive road design can reduce road mortality

Welfare Considerations

Each hedgehog killed on a road dies in pain from traumatic injuries, and road mortality represents a welfare failure at significant scale. The fragmentation of hedgehog habitat by solid garden boundaries forces animals onto roads to find food and mates. Simple interventions - hedgehog highways, wildlife-friendly road signage, reduced speeds near known hedgehog habitats - can meaningfully reduce both population decline and individual suffering.

What You Can Do

Create a hedgehog highway by cutting a 13cm gap in your fence or wall
Build or purchase a hedgehog house and place it in a sheltered garden corner
Drive cautiously at night in hedgehog habitat areas, particularly in autumn
Support national hedgehog recording schemes and local hedgehog conservation groups