Update: Hedgehog Active in January

In the early hours of today, a male hedgehog visited our garden. This isn’t a charming curiosity — it’s a warning sign.

Hedgehogs should be deep in hibernation at this time of year. When they’re out in mid-winter, it’s often because something has gone wrong: winters that are no longer predictable, habitats that no longer provide enough food or shelter, and landscapes that leave wildlife with nowhere safe to rest. Some hedgehogs wake because they haven’t built enough fat to survive the winter. Others are disturbed by repeated warm spells that interrupt hibernation and drain precious energy.

Each time a hedgehog wakes, it burns calories it may not be able to replace.

This is the reality hedgehogs are facing in the UK today — and it’s why “just let nature cope” is no longer an option. Hedgehogs are struggling not because they’re failing, but because we are.

People can help right now by putting out food and fresh water year-round, but individual kindness can only go so far. We urgently need stronger legal protection that reflects the pressures wildlife now faces, not the world as it was decades ago.

This sighting is exactly why this petition matters.
Please sign, share, and speak up — hedgehogs can’t afford to be ignored any longer. 🦔💚