Lobby your MP to help us protect hedgehogs
4th December 2020
In response to the alarming decline in hedgehog numbers in recent years, MP Species Champion for hedgehogs Chris Grayling has recently tabled an amendment to the Environment Bill. This amendment calls for hedgehogs to be made a schedule 5 species, thus increasing their legal protection.
You can look at the Environment Bill here, and the relevant amendment can be seen on page 3 of the most recent ‘Notices of Amendments’ paper.
What does this mean?
Hedgehogs are currently a schedule 6 species under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (WCA). This means they are protected from harm, but does not address the key reasons for their decline, including habitat loss and fragmentation.
Making hedgehogs a schedule 5 species would mean their nesting sites are also protected. This would ensure that developers had a legal obligation to survey and mitigate for them on new development sites.
How can I help?
We need as many MPs as possible to add their names to the amendment, to maximise the chances of it being debated. You can write to your MP using the below resources to urge them to act for hedgehogs.
- Download the template letter to your MP (feel free to tweak – adding your own thoughts and feelings will have more impact than an MP receiving several identical messages).
- How to find contact details for your MP.
Please do this as soon as you can and encourage others to do the same, using the hashtag #ProtectHedgehogs to let us know!
The petition to increase hedgehog legal protection is still running, so please sign and share if you haven’t already!
Update: replies from MPs
Many thanks to those of you who have forwarded us the reply you’ve received from your MP.
Many MPs have highlighted that the JNCC will be conducting a review of protected species next year. It has already been confirmed however, that this review will not include hedgehogs. This is why the amendment is so important.
MPs have also included in their replies that hedgehogs are currently protected from being killed using prohibited methods such as crossbows, traps and snares. This however does not address the habitat loss and fragmentation that is contributing to the hedgehog decline.
If you’re happy to reply to your MP to pass on this information then please do! Some MPs have already added their names to the amendment but we need as many as possible.
Thank you all again for your support.
