Welfare of Animals in Urban Gardens and Green Spaces

Urban gardens, parks, and green spaces provide critical habitat for urban wildlife and invertebrates, with management choices significantly affecting animal welfare outcomes.

Key Facts

Urban gardens support over 60% of native bee species in many cities when managed with native plants
Pesticide use in urban gardens kills approximately 67 million birds and billions of insects annually in the US
Manicured lawns support minimal biodiversity compared to naturalistic plantings
Urban hedgehog populations are declining as gardens become increasingly fenced and paved
Pollinator gardens on as little as one square meter measurably improve urban bee population welfare

Welfare Considerations

Urban garden welfare contributions are significant and achievable: native plant gardens provide nectar, pollen, and larval food plants for pollinators that industrial landscapes cannot support. Pesticide-free management eliminates direct mortality from chemicals. Maintaining connectivity between gardens — hedgehog highways, bat corridors, pond networks — enables urban wildlife populations to persist where impermeable development would otherwise eliminate them. Every garden management decision is a welfare decision.

What You Can Do

Replace lawn with diverse native flowering plants to support urban pollinators
Eliminate pesticide use from your garden — tolerate minor pest damage as part of a functioning ecosystem
Install a small wildlife pond to support amphibians, invertebrates, and birds
Cut a hedgehog-sized gap in garden fences to enable wildlife movement through your neighborhood