Hedgehogs at threat: Why we’re losing the nation’s favourite mammal and how universities are helping
A recent report from the Mammal Society lists hedgehogs on Britain’s IUCN Red List as vulnerable to extinction. Their numbers have declined by as much as 50% in the last 20 years, facing such continued threats as roads and loss of natural habitat. The question is, how have we come to this point and what’s being done to turn it around?
Thankfully, an army of Hedgehog Champions is growing across the UK, ready and willing to fight the good fight. One such branch of this army is Hedgehog Friendly Campus. HFC is an accreditation scheme funded by the British Hedgehog Preservation Society providing teams of university staff and students with a toolkit to make hedgehog-friendly changes on campus. It provides the resources, knowledge and understanding to make a real difference and, with almost 80 of the roughly 130 universities across the UK already registered, this revolution is growing fast and strong.