Hedgehogs have legal protection in Britain from killing and injury, but the legal framework has significant gaps and enforcement challenges that limit its welfare value.
Legal protection for hedgehogs is narrower than most people assume. The prohibition on deliberate killing is meaningful but does not address the major causes of mortality - road deaths, garden machinery, and habitat loss - that collectively cause far more hedgehog deaths than deliberate harm. Strengthening the legal framework to include habitat connectivity requirements in planning, mandatory hedgehog-gap provision in garden fencing for new housing developments, and machinery use guidelines for rural environments would close the most significant welfare gaps. The People's Trust for Endangered Species and British Hedgehog Preservation Society are leading advocacy for these legislative improvements.