Scientists warn hedgehogs are heading for extinction

Save the hedgehogs!

A report shows hedgehog numbers have declined so much recently that they have gone from being abundant to being a threatened species worldwide.

The decline in the hedgehog population has been attributed to ‘human pressure’ and loss of habitat according to experts.

Increasingly intensive agriculture damaging their rural habitat, roads and urban development are among the biggest issues affecting the species.

The conservation status of western European hedgehogs on the Red List has worsened from least concern to near threatened – which means that any further deterioration of its situation could see it listed as at risk of extinction globally.

The species’ numbers are thought to have shrunk in more than half the countries where it lives including the UK, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and Austria.

In the past ten years the species has declined by 16-33 per cent.

In 2022, a study showed that numbers had fallen by up to 75 per cent in rural areas since 2000, although in urban areas previously declining populations were starting to show signs of recovery.

The latest update to the International Union for Conservation of Nature's (IUCN) Red List of threatened species has also found more than a third (38 per cent) of the world's tree species are at risk of extinction.

Experts also found that migratory birds which visit British shores, including grey plover and dunlin, were seeing their conservation status worsen.

Dr Abi Gazzard, programme officer of the IUCN's small mammal specialist group, said: “Regional and national action is essential to support hedgehog populations, through initiatives such as ‘Hedgehog Street’ in the UK and ‘Danmarks Pindsvin’ in Denmark.”

Hedgehog Street is a campaign run by the People's Trust for Endangered Species and the British Hedgehog Preservation Society. 

It encourages people to champion and help the once-common garden visitors with simple actions such as making holes in their fence to help them move about.

Nida Al-Fulaij, chief executive for People's Trust for Endangered Species (PTES), said: “The news that European hedgehogs have been reclassified by the IUCN as Near Threatened globally raises the alarm for this much-loved native species across their range.”

Fay Vass, chief executive of British Hedgehog Preservation Society (BHPS) said: “I'd encourage everyone to help where they can, as small, simple actions can have a huge impact on habitat availability, connectivity, and quality, which is crucial for their long term survival.”