Hedgerow snuffling and
By Roy McGhie
intensive farming practices.
A prickly issue.
Hedgehog numbers are declining. Although hedgehogs are often thought of as a countryside animal, recent studies have shown that they are now most likely to be found in urban habitats in the UK.
A recent paper by Yarnell and Pettett (2020) has reviewed the difficulties they face in the rural environment (namely lack of food availability, habitat connectivity and shelter) and highlighted some of the agri-environment options from which they could benefit. However, there is a lack of empirical evidence around the precise benefits such options (like establishment of field margins and boosting hedgerow cover) would bring. More studies are urgently required before hedgehogs and other insectivores are driven out of the countryside entirely.
Original research: https://doi.org/10.3390/ani10091566
Roy McGhie works for Natural England as an Uplands Advisor. You can connect with him on LinkedIn here. If you enjoyed his sciku, check out his previous poems Ghost Ponds, A Heady Mixture and Fluttering by at Dusk.