Help our hedgehogs
Our prickly pals are disappearing fast from the countryside. Here’s how you can join our campaign to help keep them safe
Join our campaign to save the cute animals
Since 2000, the number of hedgehogs living in the UK has plummeted by half in rural areas and a third in urban ones. Last year, research showed there are only around 1m left. Increased road traffic, loss of habitat and use of pesticides are all to blame, but you can make a difference. Prima has joined with the British Hedgehog Preservation Society to help save them.
7 WAYS TO HELP OUR HOGS!
1 KEEP A CORNER OF YOUR GARDEN WILD AND INCLUDE A LOG PILE. This gives them shelter, protection and natural food. 2
HEDGEHOGS LIKE TO ROAM. Leave a 5in square gap in the corner of fences or walls so they can explore. 3
AVOID USING PESTICIDES AND SLUG PELLETS. Not only can these harm hedgehogs, they also damage their food chain. 4 PROVIDE A SHALLOW
DISH OF FRESH WATER
FOR ALL WILDLIFE. You can also put out meat-based pet food to help hedgehogs survive, especially during long, dry spells. 5 KEEP GARAGE, SHED AND GREENHOUSE DOORS SHUT AFTER DUSK. Animals can creep inside and then can get trapped. 6 HEDGEHOGS ARE GOOD SWIMMERS. But they can find it hard to get out of a pool or pond with steep sides. Add a gentle slope to the 7 water to help them.
CHECK BONFIRES. With Bonfire Night and Halloween approaching, remember to move wood to where the bonfire is to be lit on the actual day and recheck before burning by lifting the base with poles (not a fork) and shining a torch in, looking for signs of life.
• For more information on helping hedgehogs and how to donate, visit britishhedgehogs.org.uk, or call 01584 890 801