Hope on horizon for Britain's declining hedgehog population as new report shows numbers 'might be recovering'

A recent report from the British Hedgehog Preservation Society and the People’s Trust for Endangered Species found that hedgehog populations in towns and cities remains stable following years of worrying decline.

Rural populations, however, remain low , and have declined by between a third and three-quarters nationally in the past 20 years.

The report concluded: “Urban areas (mixtures of gardens, amenity grassland and other green space) are thought to be a refuge for hedgehogs from pressures in the wider landscape and can support high numbers of hedgehogs.

“However, road mortality is highest around towns, where there is a mix of urban and grassland habitats, and the loss of amenity grassland, and more enclosed gardens threaten populations in urban environments.

“Nevertheless, the picture emerging of hedgehogs in urban areas is encouraging.

"The first State of Britain’s Hedgehogs estimated that a quarter of the population in urban areas had been lost in the first decade of the century. The most recent data show no indication that decline is continuing. The picture is of a stable population that might be recovering.”

The stabilisation of the urban hedgehog population has coincided with greater efforts to preserve and create green spaces.

In 2011, the BHPS and PTES launched ‘Hedgehog Street’ to raise awareness and support for hedgehog populations. More than 100,000 people signed up for the campaign, which promotes cutting small holes in fences to create ‘hedgehog

highways’, eliminating the use of slug pellets, preserving wild areas, cracking down on hazards such as discarded netting and steep-sided ponds, and setting up outdoor ‘hedgehog houses’.

Viv Critchley, of Hedgehog Rescue Blackpool, said: “Some hedgehog rescues monitor the hedgehogs they release, and they find that the hedgehogs don’t go far from where they have been released in urban areas, so the populations in these areas aren’t declining as quickly.

“At the same time, we are seeing changes. People are strimming more, and the injuries we see are horrific. People are paving the ground for cars and not leaving wild patches, so juveniles can’t get enough food because there isn’t enough variety of plants to attract the things that hedgehogs eat. That’s why we need green spaces.

“I think having hedgehog highways, people leaving wild spaces in their gardens, taking more care while strimming, and overall having more thoughtfulness would help the hedgehog population. There’s not enough legal protection for the wildlife of this country, so they rely on us.

“Everything is trying to survive in the world, the squirrels, the birds, the insects, and the hedgehogs are no different.

“It’s encouraging to see that urban populations have stabilised, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves. We have still got to look after hedgehogs and do our best to make sure they are safe. Don’t put pellets down that may poison them; be careful with screen wash that might get into places where they drink.

“People always smile when they see a hedgehog wombling along, and there’s not enough things that make people smile these days.”