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We need your help to save the Hedgehog. Reports suggest that Hedgehog numbers have plummeted by more than half since the year 2000. It is difficult to pinpoint exact numbers. This is largely due to their nocturnal and solitary nature but there is certainly a worrying trend indicating the demise of the nations favourite prickly mammal.
The trend seems to indicate that Hedgehogs now prefer suburban habitats and that they can be entirely absent from arable areas. Areas in and around towns and villages can be excellent habitats for Hedgehogs so Hedgehogs often prefer them over farmland, but Britains gardens are becoming poorer homes for wildlife. This is largely due to an increase in the popularity of paving and decking which leads to reduced plant life. Alongside this there is an increase in housing developments, with more roads being built. This is contributing to a huge loss of connectivity between greenspaces. This leaves Hedgehogs isolated from each other, making it harder for them to find food and mate.
Stockport Fencing Ltd are now producing concrete base panels that are pre-cast with a ‘Hedgehog hole’. These holes allow free movement of Hedgehogs within our urban environments. We hope that creating these hedgehog highways will provide the opportunity for hedgehogs to roam freely. Travelling between gardens to forage for food and potentially find a mate. The small holes are discreet and can be placed in a corner of your garden. They can also be positioned behind plants or shrubs to make them almost invisible. Regardless of where they are positioned in your garden it is essential that there is some way for Hedgehogs to roam free.
We hope that this simple change to your fencing will go some way to stopping the decline. For more great ideas please visit wildaboutgardens.org.uk
Please join us and request that a Hedgehog friendly base panel is included with your fencing order to help us save the Hedgehog.