Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to protect the hedgehog population.

The Government is concerned about the decline of the hedgehog and supports efforts to make our gardens more hedgehog friendly through the creation of hedgehog havens and campaigns encouraging local communities to work together to look out for hedgehogs and make gardens as welcoming as possible. Further advice can be found at:

www.gov.uk/government/news/five-simple-steps-to-transform-gardens-in-to-hedgehog-havens

Agri-environment schemes such as Countryside Stewardship focus on priority species and habitats and fund the management of farmland, which provides enhancement and maintenance of habitats used by a range of species including hedgehogs. In particular, the Countryside Stewardship scheme’s Wild Pollinators and Farm Wildlife Package funds specific management focussed on improving farmland biodiversity across most farming systems. The management options for grassland, the conservation and enhancement of hedgerow systems and the creation and maintenance of field margins will help to provide suitable habitat for a range of species including hedgehogs.