Date: 03/20/2018

To: Project Coordinator, BHPS

From: Thomas Donton
Subject: Preventing the endangerment of Hedgehogs
Reference: N/A
Action Required: Request greenlight or termination of the project, by 04/20/2018
Distribution List: Project Management Team

Over the past half of a century, the hedgehog population in Britain has been declining
rapidly. The total population has dropped from an estimated 30 million in the 1950s to
just over 1 million today. This has been the result of many contributing factors from
human expansion and habitat fragmentation to badger population growth. Other factors
include colder winters and accidents involving humans. Most of the problems
hedgehogs face that cause population decline can be offset by help from humans. All
that is needed for that is proper education.

Summary
Hedgehogs are not yet considered endangered, but soon that could change if we don’t
do anything to help. There are many factors that contribute to the population decline
and that allows for many options for action to reduce and offset it. No one wants to see
hedgehogs extinct, but everyone needs to know that they have to help in some way to
prevent it. Simple educational material is where it starts. People need to know about the
issue before they can help. So, material that outlines and describes the issues that
cause the population decline, large and small, and what they can do to prevent and/or
offset the decline, is a great way to start.

Hedgehog Population Decline

Major Factors
There are a few large-scale issues that are associated with the population of
hedgehogs. Habit fragmentation is largely considered to be the primary factor. Other
factors include the population growth of predators, like badgers, and cold weather
conditions. These other factors alone don’t have much of an effect, rather they multiply
the effects of habitat fragmentation.
The large-scale issues that hedgehogs are faced with are things that either aren’t worth
taking action towards at the moment or will take much longer and much more resources
to take action. This doesn’t disregard them completely, as solutions to these issues
should be researched more; however, these larger issues aren’t things individuals of the
public can prevent on a daily basis. Along with the inaccuracy of how well proposed
solutions will affect the situation, these major factors aren’t the focus at the moment.
Preventable Factors
The smaller scale factors, as of now, are realistically the only areas where individual
citizens can contribute on a day to day basis. These issues include multiple types of
accidental death caused by humans, cold weather, and abandoned and/or unwell
young/new-born hedgehogs. Cold weather appears again because although it is a
large-scale factor, it is also preventable on the small-scale. For example, individuals can
examine smaller/unwell hedgehogs and determine if they could survive the winter on
their own. If not the could treat them back to health until they are able to survive in the
wild. This is the basic purpose of all wildlife sanctuaries, but with hedgehogs basically,
anyone can do it. So, if more people save one or two hedgehogs a year from freezing or
sickness, rather than letting that responsibility fall completely on the rescues, the efforts
may begin to offset the decline caused unpreventable factors.
Accidental human-caused deaths include anything from landscaping to bonfires. The
fact that these are accidents means that they are preventable and on top of that they
are easily preventable. Along with there being no reason not to prevent killing a
hedgehog. People just need to remember that hedgehogs exist in their backyards. So,
when they go to do these activities, remembering to take five seconds to check and be
more aware will easily prevent pointless deaths of hedgehogs. This amount is
realistically unmeasurable, but every life counts and it will slowly add up.

Why does this matter?

At first, most people may not see the significance of hedgehogs, along with many other
species. A lot of people will ask what the point is in spending all this time and all these
resources to prevent a species from going extinct. This argument is on a much broader
level than the point being made here, but there are some very good reasons, specific to
hedgehogs, for preventing their extinction. The main reason used to advocate for
hedgehog preservation is the fact that they are considered an indicator species. Similar
to butterflies, the health of the hedgehog population is used to assume the overall
health of the surrounding environment. Many other augments can be made for
preservation, most are ethical and morals based arguments which have their place, but
the argument of the indicator species is special because it contains a factual and
scientific purpose regardless of people’s feelings.

Conclusion
Although hedgehogs may not seem important in the average person’s life, morally and
ethically it is the right thing to prevent the extinction of, not only the hedgehogs but,
every species that we can. As with any issue, there is almost always multiple factors of
varying degree that contribute, and with the population decline of hedgehogs there is no
exception. Some factors are too broad to be tackled by an individual, and others are so
simple it should be common sense. Regardless, all factors need to be addressed to
some degree, but education is where it all starts. If people don’t know that an issue
exists, they won’t know how prevent it or that they can help to prevent it in the first
place. Educational and advocacy material is the first step in addressing this issue. The
more people on board, the easier the goal becomes, and the quicker the issue is
addressed, the less damage that is done

Recommendations
Raising awareness and education of the issue is the goal here. Everything from:
• What the problem is
• The factors the contribute
• Why it is significant
• How to help solve the problem
…needs to be addressed to some extent with educational material. This material must
be educational, but also advocate for people to care and get more involved. The types
of distribution channels include:
• Online advertisement, ex. Social media advertising
• Physical advertisement, ex. Billboards, flyers, clothing campaigns, etc…
• Physical education documents, ex. Pamphlets
• Online educational material, ex. PDFs, websites
• Educational videos
All of this will help to provide awareness, along with useful education, and finally
advocate for support. As with any issue, the more people involved and supporting it, the
easier, faster, and more efficiently it will be solved.
References
Aldred, Jessica. "Hedgehogs Continue To Disappear From British Gardens, Wildlife
Survey Shows". The Guardian, 2016,
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/jun/14/hedgehogs-continue-to-
disappear-from-british-gardens-wildlife-survey-shows. Accessed 25 Feb 2018.
Carrington, Damian. "Hedgehogs Now A Rare Garden Sight As British Populations
Continue To Decline". The Guardian, 2017,
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/feb/06/hedgehogs-now-a-rare-
garden-sight-as-british-populations-continue-to-decline. Accessed 25 Feb 2018.
Morris, Steven. "Hedgehogs At Risk From Food Scarcity, Habitat Loss And
Badgers". The Guardian, 2017,
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/jul/07/friends-of-the-furze-pig-
rspca-urges-public-to-be-hedgehog-aware. Accessed 5 Mar 2018.
Torrance, Jeremy. "BBC - Nature UK: Why Hedgehogs Are In Trouble And What You
Can Do To Help". Bbc.Co.Uk, 2011,
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/natureuk/2011/11/why-hedgehogs-are-in-trouble-
a.shtml. Accessed 25 Feb 2018.
Vaughan, Adam. "Hedgehog Population In Dramatic Decline". The Guardian, 2013,
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/jan/29/hedgehog-population-
dramatic-decline. Accessed 25 Feb 2018.
Warwick, Hugh. Hedgehog. Reaktion Books LTD, 2014, pp. 168-184.