Hedgehog conservation strategy launched
“By identifying the key threats hedgehogs are facing and how they are all connected, we can better understand the actions needed to address them; but we can’t do this alone” – Nida Al-Fulaij.
A National Hedgehog Conservation Strategy has been launched to reverse the decline in hedgehog numbers.
Published by the People’s Trust for Endangered Species (PTES) and the British Hedgehog Preservation Society (BHPS), the strategy aims to help key stakeholders work together to address the issues that are causing populations to decline.
The State of Britain’s Hedgehogs 2022 report from PTES and BHPS revealed that hedgehog numbers fell between 30-75 per cent in rural areas since 2000.
The development of the new strategy saw PTES and BHPS work with more than 30 stakeholders, including conservation organisations, academics, and hedgehog rehabilitators, to identify threats to hedgehog numbers and possible solutions.
The six threats identified as priorities to tackle were:
• Decrease in availability and distribution of natural food and associated habitat
• Increased vehicle collisions
• Unintentional mortality and stress due to human intervention
• Accidental death and misadventure
• Toxin accumulation
• Genetic isolation.
The strategy presents possible actions that might help to address these issues, ranging from creating wildlife corridors to encouraging people not to litter.
A National Hedgehog Monitoring Programme was launched earlier this year by PTES and BHPS to collect data on hedgehog populations as part of conservation efforts.
Nida Al-Fulaij, co-author of the strategy and CEO of PTES, said: “By identifying the key threats hedgehogs are facing and how they are all connected, we can better understand the actions needed to address them; but we can’t do this alone.
“The National Hedgehog Conservation Strategy acts as a framework for collaboration between policymakers, conservationists, landowners, rehabilitators and communities.
“Coordinated efforts nationally, regionally and locally are the only way we can achieve our ambition of halting the decline in hedgehogs, and ensuring that this iconic native species becomes a common sight in our towns and countryside once again.”
The full strategy can be read here.
Image © Shutterstock
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