Wildlife

Wild Animal Welfare and Hedgehog Garden Connectivity

Garden connectivity is essential for hedgehog welfare, allowing animals to access the larger territories they need to find food, mates, and hibernation sites.

Key Facts

Hedgehogs have home ranges of 1-2 km per night requiring access across multiple gardens
Closed garden boundaries including solid fencing fragment hedgehog habitat and isolate populations
13cm diameter holes in fences allow hedgehog passage without enabling rabbit or fox access
UK hedgehog populations are significantly higher in areas with higher garden highway density
Community garden highway projects have created connected corridors in numerous urban areas

Welfare Considerations

Garden connectivity directly improves hedgehog welfare by enabling access to sufficient food, mates, and habitat. Creating garden highways is one of the most direct welfare interventions available.

What You Can Do

Create a 13cm hole in your fence to allow hedgehog passage
Coordinate with neighbours to create a connected garden highway
Register your garden highway with Hedgehog Street