A council has pledged to implement measures aimed at helping hedgehogs thrive.

Classified as vulnerable to extinction in the UK and added to the “red list” of threatened mammals in 2020, hedgehogs face numerous challenges.

South Ribble Council’s Hedgehog Action Plan focuses on creating “room to roam” to reduce road fatalities.

Proposed actions include building ramps on ditches and ponds and leaving gaps in hedges and fences.

Councillor Kath Unsworth said: “We thought it was necessary because hedgehogs are in decline and they are an indicator of how well a habitat is doing.

“If the hedgehogs are fine, then the rest of things seem to be ok as well.

“They can go up to about two miles during the night to look for food, so they need that space to find the food they need.”

Ms. Unsworth stated that the council is committed to doing its part.

“We’re looking at not using pesticides, making sure our fences and hedges have got gaps in and making sure that any water has got ramps so they can get out if they fall in,” she said.

The Lancashire Wildlife Trust, which conducts annual hedgehog surveys, reports a 33% drop in sightings across the county.

Alan Wright from the trust described the decline in hedgehog numbers as “massive.”

He said: “We had about five million of them in the UK fifty years ago and now we are down to less than a million, so they’ve really suffered.

“It’s all about creating the right habitat,” he said. “We haven’t done that enough in the last hundred years. We’ve got rid of hedgerows, and hedgerows are massively important, but the good news is that farmers are now creating new ones.

“People are also looking out for them in the garden and making spaces for them,” he added.

“If there’s a route for them between a number of safe gardens to feed, then that’s a fantastic thing.”

 

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