Wildlife Welfare

Wild Hedgehog Garden Corridor

Hedgehog populations benefit enormously from garden connectivity. Small gaps in fences allow hedgehog movement through garden networks, dramatically increasing territory and survival.

Key Facts

Hedgehogs need territories of up to 2km across for sufficient food and mates
Garden fences are major barriers to hedgehog movement through urban areas
13cm x 13cm holes at fence bases allow hedgehog passage without major structural change
Hedgehog Street programme has created over 100,000 garden connections across the UK
Connected gardens support larger, healthier hedgehog populations than isolated ones

Welfare Considerations

Garden connectivity is one of the most impactful welfare and conservation actions individual householders can take for hedgehogs. Creating gaps in fences costs almost nothing but transforms the available habitat for local hedgehog populations.

What You Can Do

Create a hedgehog hole in your garden fence and ask neighbours to do the same
Register your garden on the Hedgehog Street website
Install a hedgehog house in a quiet corner of your garden
Join the Big Hedgehog Map citizen science project to track local populations