Fresh help to protect the much-loved but threatened hedgehog

However, one of the most popular garden visitors in towns, cities and the countryside are in serious trouble and vulnerable to extinction. Around 60 years ago, 36m hedgehogs could be found in UK gardens but now that figure is estimated to be closer to a million. Some studies suggest hedgehog numbers have declined by up to 75 per cent in some rural areas since 2000. The decline varies across different regions but seems to be most apparent in the East of England. Next week is Hedgehog Awareness Week and ahead of the campaign which is now in its 14th year, Craven Wildlife Trust says there are “small things people can do and not do” in their own gardens that could help reverse the trend of decline. Jane Carpenter, who founded the organisation based in the Yorkshire Dales in 2019, said: “It is a good time to promote awareness, especially in spring when people are planning gardens - there are a lot of issues for hedgehogs. The decline is caused by humans and we want to really help people switch on. There are small things people can do and small things they can stop doing just to halt the decline or slow it down. “It is the same with all nature but hedgehogs tug at the heartstrings, they are everybody’s favourite. I grew up enjoying seeing them in the garden and at night but you don’t see them now and that is really indicative of the bigger picture - from the large things to the small things. If we can start looking after them, it takes care of other things as well.” She said January to March is usually a quiet period for hedgehog rescues but they currently have 30 injured and sick hedgehogs which is “unheard of”. Back in December they had 70. Climate change being one reason and “catastrophes in gardens” being another. “As the weather has been good people are gardening, we are getting so many strimmed hedgehogs - and they are just the ones we know about”, she explains. “There are catastrophes in peoples gardens. Nobody knows they have strimmed them and we are getting others coming in with other issues, but evidence they have been strimmed.” Increasing numbers of hedgehogs are being found in daytime when they are primarily a nocturnal animal. It means they are usually ill with internal parasites which points to another problem the mammals have to contend with. Jane said: “They normally carry a few parasites because of what they eat but their natural diet is in decline because we are killing too many insects with weed killers and pesticides. I remember growing up, you’d go for a drive and the windscreen was covered in bugs. That doesn’t happen now and if that is in the air, it is the same on the ground so they are eating more slugs and snails and can’t control the internal parasites. As well as this and the garden injuries, they are getting stuck in netting, car accidents, bonfires, ponds and even cattle grids.” The trust is very realistic about injured hedgehogs. If they can’t live in the wild, they can’t live in captivity as they won’t tame. So, it is working on ways to help hedgehogs - from educating the public to working with housing developers. Builders are being encouraged to put gaps between garden fences to create ‘hedgehog highways’ so they can wander looking for food and a potential mate. Gardeners are being asked to check for sleeping hedgehogs before they strim or mow gardens and people can pick up litter such as cans, plastic and elastics as hedgehogs easily get stuck in them. Before lighting bonfires, check the stacks as twigs and logs are perfect hedgehog nests and those with ponds can create accesses for hedgehogs, actually keen swimmers, to be able to get out and avoid drowning. Quite often hedgehogs can get stuck in cattle grids too, so a member of the trust is going about creating ladders with rocks. And feeding hedgehogs bread and milk is ja myth as they are carnivores. The best food you can provide is dried kitten or cat biscuits, or wet cat and dog food. Craven Wildlife Trust came about after Jane found an injured hedgehog during a night shift and realised there was nowhere local to take it. It works out of a room in a partially derelict school in Horton-in-Ribblesdale and runs, with the help of 30 volunteers, thanks to fundraising events and donations. However, the trust is looking for a permanent site to establish a purpose built wild-life rescue and has become a registered charity so it can apply for grants and funds. Jane added: “Ninety-five per cent of the animals we have had would have died otherwise. If we save any percentage we are doing a really good job and any that go back to freedom - that is fantastic.”