By Helen BriggsBBC News
7 February 2018
Hedgehogs are continuing to
decline in the UK, according to a new report.
Surveys by citizen scientists
show hedgehog numbers have fallen by about 50% since the turn of the century.
Conservation groups say they are
particularly concerned about the plight of the prickly creatures in rural
areas.
Figures suggest the animals are
disappearing more rapidly in the countryside, as hedgerows and field margins
are lost to intensive farming.
But there are signs that
populations in urban areas may be recovering.
David Wembridge, surveys officer
for the conservation charity, People's Trust for Endangered Species (PTES),
said two surveys of the number of hedgehogs in gardens and one of numbers
killed on roads show an overall decline.
But he said there is "a
glimmer of hope" that measures to create habitat for hedgehogs in urban
areas are paying off.
"Numbers haven't recovered
yet but in urban areas at least there's an indication that numbers appear to
have levelled in the last four years," he said.
In rural areas, the number of
hedgehogs killed on roads has fallen by between a third and a half across Great
Britain, The State of Britain's Hedgehogs 2018 report found.
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