Hedgehog hibernation is a critical survival strategy that is increasingly disrupted by mild winters and garden management practices with welfare consequences.
Hedgehogs that enter hibernation with insufficient fat reserves or are disturbed during torpor face welfare risks of starvation and exposure. A hedgehog roused in January and unable to find food faces progressive starvation as it burns remaining fat without replacement. The increasing prevalence of mild autumns and winters creates conditions where hedgehogs remain active longer, consuming reserves before true torpor onset.