Hedgehogs in Ealing fight for survival – residents are building them “highways” through gardens

Hedgehogs are one of Britain’s most loved animals – and one of the most threatened. Since 2000 their numbers across the UK have fallen by between 30% and 75%. In Ealing, local groups (Ealing Hedgehog Friends and Ealing Wildlife Group) are working to reverse the decline.

The single most useful thing residents can do is create a hedgehog highway – a small hole (roughly the size of a CD) in a fence or wall. This allows hedgehogs to move freely between gardens and find food over a larger area. More than 130 such passages have already been made across the borough.

The groups also run regular rescue operations. Sick, underweight or orphaned hedgehogs are taken in by volunteers who feed, treat and eventually release them. Anyone who finds a hedgehog out in daylight (usually a sign something is wrong) or injured is asked to call the local rescue line.

Ealing Wildlife Group works with the Zoological Society of London, using camera traps in parks and allotments to monitor where hedgehogs are still present. They have been confirmed in places such as Northala Fields and sites in Southall.

For many residents this is a simple, practical action they can take in their own garden – low cost, but with a real positive effect on local wildlife.