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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to raise awareness of the rapid decline in the UK hedgehog population and the reasons for this decline.

The Government is concerned about the decline of the hedgehog. The reasons for their decline are complex and include agricultural practices (including loss of hedgerows), use of pesticides, reducing availability of food, roads, a lack of available shelter in urban areas, restriction of movement and badgers that predate on hedgehogs and compete for their food.

We support 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.

Working with the British Hedgehog Preservation Society and People’s Trust for Endangered Species, earlier this year the Government published advice for homeowners in the form of five simple steps to make gardens more hedgehog friendly, from letting grassy areas grow wild to providing food and shelter.

More recently, information has been available through social media on how people can help hedgehogs during autumn.