Bonfire night safety

19th October 2021

Bonfire night is coming, and each year hedgehogs are injured, or even killed by bonfires. A pile of logs looks like the perfect place to curl up for a hog, and their fear response is to curl into a ball, so once the fire starts they may not run away. This is especially true if they have already gone into hibernation.

Luckily there are things we can do to help hedgehogs at this time of year.

Bonfires should only be built on the day of burning. If this isn’t possible then moving them and rebuilding them on the day will discourage any hedgehogs which are there.

Large/commercial bonfires should have a hedgehog-proof fence put around them until lighting.

We have produced a flyer which you can share with family, friends and neighbours, to ensure that hedgehogs have a safe bonfire night. You can share our guidance on social media with the hashtag #RememberHedgehogs to spread the message far and wide.

Thanks for helping hedgehogs!