Wildlife

Wild Hedgehog Garden Connectivity

How garden design and boundary management can support hedgehog movement and population recovery in urban and suburban environments.

Key Facts

Hedgehogs need territories of 10-30 hectares for foraging
Garden fences and walls form major barriers to hedgehog movement
13cm holes in boundary fences enable hedgehog passage between gardens
Hedgehog populations have declined by 50% in UK countryside since 2000
Connected gardens support larger effective population sizes

Welfare Considerations

Hedgehogs suffer from landscape fragmentation that limits their ability to find food, mates, and shelter. Individual animals unable to reach sufficient foraging territory face starvation and reproductive failure. Garden connectivity directly reduces this suffering.

What You Can Do

Make a hedgehog hole in your garden boundary fence
Register your hedgehog highway on the Big Hedgehog Map
Avoid slug pellets containing metaldehyde or methiocarb