Hedgehogs have recently been placed on the endangered wildlife list as their numbers are rapidly in decline and also appear on the protected species list. Without our help they will be extinct within 10 years! (2008)

Why is this I hear you cry?

Many factors have contributed to the decline of the hedgehog and they are all, without exception, due to man.

• Warmer winters which means Harry Hedgehog comes out of hibernation too early and there just isn't enough food to survive;
• wetter springs/summers wash their nests away separating mums from babies who can't survive on their own;
• carelessly discarding our rubbish; 
• increasing use of chemicals everywhere, especially on our gardens - pesticides, insecticides, slug pellets and the like;
• strimming and mowing lawns without care;
• forking over compost heaps without checking for hogs;
• garden netting - including football nets, pea and bean netting and fencing;
• fires in the garden or on bonfire night kill hibernating hedhehogs - check carefully before lighting;  
• garden ponds with no escape route;
• new roads;
• cattle grids - no escape route;
• excavation holes - no escape route; 
• erosion of natural habitat;
• feeding them with bread and milk which poisons them and they die a slow and painful death.

The list of hedgehog hazards is a long one and these are only a few examples.

They say a picture paints a thousand words - so here are just some of the day to day hazards Harry Hedgehog faces... 

NO HEDGEHOG WAS HARMED - IT'S A SOFT TOY!

• a carelessly discarded tin...

• a carelessly discarded yogurt pot...

 

• plastic rings that old cans together...

 

•   ...netting of all types including football nets - leave enough of a gap at the bottom for Harry Hedgehog to walk beneath easily;

 

• Look carefully before throwing anything away or onto the tip - you could be throwing a hedgehog away;

• . .hedgehogs are mutilated by strimmers and lawn mowers and can't easily be seen - check carefully beforehand... 

 

• ...ponds need to have a sturdy escape route and/or a graduated edge for the hogs to climb out of the pond AND always keep the pond filled to full capacity to enable the hog to float/swim to the edge and walk out;

• Excavasion holes and even holes in the garden need escape routes for hedgehogs to climb out of danger - so pop either planks of wood or piles of stones into the hole.

• Every time you drive over a cattle grid please stop and check if there is an escape route for a hedgehog and if there isn't just pile some stones up inside the grid or prop some wood up inside for them to climb out. 

We can't delay any longer - we must start to help this unique creature NOW! Come on folks, together we can do this...Think Hedgehogs - Think Escape Routes!

New to 2011 is a joint campaign by The British Hedgehog Preservation Society and The Peoples Trust for Endangered Species to help the hedgehog. For a really useful information pack please visit www.hedgehogstreet.org. and it's free!

 Registered Charity Number: 1120275