Hedgehogs need YOUR help URGENTLY

The numbers of hedgehogs living in and visiting our gardens have fallen dramatically. We all need to do something about this immediately otherwise they will soon be completely extinct.

They cannot survive without OUR help

 If you have hedgehogs in your garden, please look after them well. You are one of the very few lucky ones to still enjoy the presence of these endangered animals

Hedgehogs are now listed as endangered animals that need special protection and help in the UK

See http://www.hogwatch.org.uk/  for latest news and maps showing the very few  hedgehogs still seen

These are sad and bad days for the hedgehog. One thing now is certain, the hedgehogs of Britain are dying out at a rate of about a fifth of the population every four years. By 2025, they will all be gone.

Urban conditions are a major problem for hedgehogs.

Fences are solid and go deep into the ground. Hedgehogs cannot dig under or climb over them. Overall there is a huge area that is completely unavailable to hedgehogs. The hedgehog-friendly gardens are few and far between and only offer a minuscule area compared to the massive areas that hedgehogs have been excluded from. 

One reason for no hedgehogs in Your Garden is because the gardens are like Fort Knox with solid walls and fences with absolutely no way in for them.

How can YOU help

	Make a small gap for them under the fence so they can get in and out and make sure all your neighbours do the same
	Put down food and water for them
	Be careful with Mowers, Strimmers and Garden Power Tools
	Our gardens are bare and dead with decking, slabs and gravel with no wildlife friendly areas at all. This is due to TV programs like GroundForce
	Print out and distribute these posters and tell all your friends to do the same

These are the minimum requirements to have a hedgehog in Your Garden:-

• Regular food & water for them
• A  dry safe house for them to sleep in and hibernate over the winter
• The sort of garden with undergrowth and bushes that is more natural for them and allow them to wander freely and be safe from other dangers

If you have this sort of garden then it is very likely that a hedgehog will decide to live there.

Read some of these news articles about the decline of hedgehogs ( and other wildlife) and do something TODAY to help them

All links open in new window:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/science/article2337247.ece

http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/?p=239

http://www.guardian.co.uk/conservation/story/0,13369,1687999,00.html