Written question WQ92687
- Asked by
- Andrew RT DaviesConservative
- To be answered by
- Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs
- Tabled
- Due
- Answered
- Time to answer
- 7 days
Question
How is the Welsh Government monitoring the hedgehog population in Wales?
Answer
Answered by Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs
Hedgehogs are challenging to survey with any degree of accuracy as they often inhabit private property, including people’s gardens. This raises issues of permission for access by surveyors. A single hedgehog’s territory may cross several urban properties, so absence from one garden at any one time may not indicate absence of hedgehogs.
The State of Mammals in Wales Report 2020 (StateofMammalsinWalesReport2020-update300621.pdf) written by the Mammal Society and commissioned by Natural Resources Wales (NRW) estimates the hedgehog population to be 56,800 in Wales. Another useful source of information about hedgehog populations is the State of Britain's Hedgehogs 2022 report (SoBH-2022-Final.pdf (hedgehogstreet.org)), published by British Hedgehog Preservation Society & Peoples Trust for Endangered Species.