Dear sir
With spring just around the corner, our gardens are waking up and wildlife will be emerging from hibernation, so I wished to raise awareness of the UK’s favourite mammal, the hedgehog.
Hedgehogs are now red-listed as critically endangered to extinction. Habitat loss, pesticide use and the fragmentation of habitats by roads and housing are the main reasons for such a steep decline. It is now thought that there are fewer than 800,000 left in the UK
In urban areas, numbers appear to be stabilising, highlighting the importance of gardens, green spaces, and local action, in ensuring a future for hedgehogs. In rural areas unfortunately, their numbers are nose-diving, and in the south east of the UK hedgehogs are now functionally extinct due to the vast fragmentation of habitat.
What can we do to help? Support our local rescue - Baddeley Green hedgehog rescue centre charity - 07917 161491. If a hedgehog is out in the daytime that is a sign of a serious problem - contact the above number for advice immediately.
To support hedgehogs in your garden, there is plenty of advice: Make your garden wildlife-friendly - grow native flowers, shrubs and trees that harbour the hedgehogs’ food source. Your garden doesn’t need to be too neat, don’t over mow your lawn, introduce wildflowers and herbaceous perennials or plant a UK-native tree if you have space. Create a water source, access to clean fresh water is essential for all. It can be a big or small water source, whatever space you can afford. Create a log pile as a habitat for beetles which should make up the bulk of a hedgehog’s diet. Get a hedgehog house, put it in a sheltered, quiet area of the garden with shrubs around. Access is also a huge issue for the hedgehogs. If you have a completely enclosed garden, look to see if you can create an access through the fence that’s at least 12cm x 12cm. Leave out chicken flavour cat biscuits for your visiting hedgehogs to help supplement their diet. Starvation is a big problem for the hedgehogs. With the sharp decline in caterpillars and beetle populations (their natural food source) they have to resort to eating slugs, which carry parasites that can be deadly to the hedgehogs. Hedgehogs must never be fed mealworms, peanuts, sunflower hearts, fruit or calciworms, these are deadly to hedgehogs, they cause a bone wasting disease and cause an extremely painful death. And never use pesticides, as these destroy the ecosystem ultimately leading our hedgehogs to starve.
Baddeley Green Hedgehog Rescue is looking for volunteers who may be able to release a hedgehog into their garden. You must be able to meet the following criteria in order to qualify.
Have hedgehogs already visiting your garden
Your garden is situated away from busy roads/traffic
Your garden has access that the hedgehog can easily exit in order to forage
Provide a hedgehog house in a sheltered part of your garden
Provide a feeding station with fresh cat biscuits and water on a nightly basis.
Your garden must not use pesticides of any description.
If you think you can meet this criteria then please do contact the rescue to see if you can help, it will be massively appreciated. 07917 161491 and also on Facebook.
Many thanks
Lisa Miller
Congleton Green Party