By GB News (World News) | Created at 2026-10-14 12:56:17 | Updated at 2026-10-16 11:14:41
1 day ago
WATCH NOW: Anna Riley reports on Hedgehog Awareness Week to protect declining species
An urgent “call to action” has been issued by conservation experts following a study revealing that hedgehogs are on the brink of extinction in rural parts of England.
Research shows that the once-common mammal has experienced a rapid decline, with numbers falling by 71 per cent between 1981 and 2023 - a collapse of more than two-thirds of the population.
Silviu Petrovan, an assistant professor in Cambridge University’s Conservation Science Group, has said the figures should be alarming to Britain “as a nation [that] loves hedgehogs”.
Dr Petrovan cites a number of reasons for the decline, including the intensification of agriculture, which has led to the removal of hedgerows integral to the animals’ safety.
Ben Gardner, Director of ecology by design, reminds members of the public that hedgehogs hibernate through the winter so will tend to make nests in bushes.
Roads also pose a “big issue” with over 100,000 hedgehogs killed on the road every year.
Other contributing factors include increased pesticide use, growing badger numbers and “prolonged dry weather” over the summer.
The overall decline has been “A,” according to Dr Petrovan.
Hedgehog populations fare better in urban areas, where the data suggests a “much more hopeful picture”, according to David Wembridge, an author of the study.
Numbers have risen by about a fifth between 2004 and 2024.
Dr Petrovan credits the “hedgehog-friendly actions” of urban gardeners with creating areas of refuge by eliminating pesticide use and putting small holes in fences to allow hedgehogs to move freely.
While largely wiped out in parts of Scotland, the West Midlands and south-west England, hedgehogs appear to be more resilient in the east of the country.
Mr Wembridge states that the data paints a “very bleak” picture for the animal, which is set to feature on the next banknote, but insists that it is not too late for members of the public to prevent the species from being lost entirely.
Hedgehogs are not the only animals experiencing a rapid decline in the UK.
Wild bird populations are at their lowest levels since records began.
Of the 132 native breeding species of the Swift, 55 per cent have declined in number in England in the past five years.
The Hazel dormice has also seen a decline of 50 per cent since 2000, and the once common Great Crest Newt, is now rarely sighted in the British ecosystem.
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