I have always been fascinated by hedgehogs since, as a child in 1980s Italy, I used to watch them pop along and eat from the same bowl as our cat Michi. Michela was a feisty, stubborn, grey and white lady with plenty of sass and lust for life; I still remember her puzzled and unimpressed reception when, in the evenings, she often used to find herself having to share her beloved Kitekat (the most popular cat food brand at the time) with a strange and prickly unexpected guest.

The years passed but my passion remained, alongside many other species – but this is another story which will require a whole new blog.

Fast forward to 2017 UK, my curiosity was reignited by some strange droppings I had been finding on our lawn; was it a cat? Was it a bird? Was it a plane? Time to find out!

I got in touch with Jayne at my local hog rescue, The Happy Hedgehog Rescue in Yateley; she soon confirmed that what I had was hog poo, and could I please help them by leaving a shallow dish of water and supplementary food out – meaty cat biscuits are best, never feed milk, bread, fruit, mealworms, or peanuts as these can make hogs very ill.

I was thrilled to know that hogs had chosen to visit our garden, and, of course, my old fascination resurfaced; little did I know that this was the start of a consolidated relationship which would take us through lockdown, a volunteering experience cleaning cages and incredibly smelly poo, and the release of several rehabilitated local hogs in our monitored garden.

I was utterly captivated by these iconic mammals, whose anatomy has remained pretty much unchanged for 15 million years! Unlike other wildlife, it is pretty easy to get up and personal with them; as their natural instinct is to curl up rather than run away (hence why we should always check bonfires before lighting them and be careful when strimming), encounters with these nocturnal creatures are quite frequent, especially at dusk when they emerge from their sleep looking for beetles and grubs to munch on.

In addition to local awareness campaigns and several courses undertaken in the most disparate locations to improve my knowledge, I felt I needed to do more; I decided to involve my local Council hoping they would accept to install small mammal signs by our busy road, to protect the thriving local hog population from traffic accidents.

Hedgehogs have suffered a 50% decline since the turn of the century, mainly due to human intervention; road accidents, strimming injuries, insect decline, pesticides, and habitat fractioning have all contributed to the decrease of this species, as well as other wildlife.

In December 2023 the law relaxed, and the Department for Transport (DfT) made rules easier for Local Authorities to put up wildlife warning signs. The signs help protect vital crossing routes for hedgehogs and other small animals, and the new rules give permission to Local Authorities to decide where to place these signs, rather than having to apply to the DfT on a case by case basis.

However, signs can’t just be put up anywhere as there are some criteria to consider; hedgehog population, number of road casualties, and signage clutter are all important benchmarks.

The Highway Department at the time unfortunately never responded to my plea, I however was not to declare defeat! I tried once again in 2024 under the new Council and this time I was listened to!

The support of the rescue was vital, as well as data provided by the Big Hedgehog Map, of both dead and alive animals.

As Councils are struggling financially, Jayne and I thought of raising the money via a crowdfunding campaign; thanks to the generosity of the local community, the needed funds were raised in few months. The support of local Councillors was also vital; they were great ambassadors and really helped push the plea in the right direction.

Hedgehogs need our help, and now is the right time for individuals and communities to take the opportunity to help averting their decline; it’s also important to underline that I started this as an individual, showing that anyone can make a difference with the right support and backing evidence, as well as determination and patience.

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