A group in Keyford is on a mission to protect and conserve Frome’s hedgehog population and is calling for the town to become more ‘hedgehog friendly’.
Keyford Hedgehog Rescue and Rehab is a volunteer-led group working to help Frome’s hedgehogs. A member of the group, Graham, gave a presentation on ways in which Frome could become more ‘hedgehog friendly’ at the Annual Town Meeting earlier this month.
“The population of hedgehogs in the UK is about 800,000 but that has massively dropped off. In the last decade it has [dropped] by 30%,” said Graham.
Due to the rapid decline of hedgehogs, the species has become protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.
Graham said, “They evolved 15 million years ago and haven’t changed that much. [We think] they existed at the same time as dinosaurs [but] we are not too sure. They are mammals and give birth to live young. They can travel up to two kilometres a night and a male can travel up to three kilometres a night.”
To encourage Frome to become more ‘hedgehog friendly’, some of the group’s ideas include installing signs around the town to warn drivers of hedgehogs in the road; providing more hedgehog houses, similar to one already in Welshmill; installing additional water points around the town; adding stickers to grass trimmers to warn of the dangers to hedgehogs; and including a plan to conserve and protect hedgehogs in the Victoria Park management plan.
To continue their outreach, the group will host a public talk at The Good Heart on Sunday 4th May at 4pm to share more about how the community can get involved in protecting local hedgehogs.
