Because we've destroyed their habitat and left them to starve. Almost half their diet is caterpillars, which come from butterflies. Butterflies overwinter as pupae in ivy, dead foliage and leaf litter - all the things that we keep 'tidying up'. Butterflies lay their eggs on all the things we like to cut down and destroy, like stinging nettles and fescue grasses. You've probably noticed there are no butterflies around, even though it's peak season. No butterflies means no food for the hedgehogs. The rest of their diet is beetles and grubs, and we've destroyed their habitat too. No May bugs banging at your windows any more, no ground beetles to keep down the slug population. And because of our farming ways, parasites like lungworm have spread all over the country, and have contaminated the land where hedgehogs forage. So until we can come to our senses and start leaving our gardens and green spaces more natural, allowing nature to recover, it's so important to provide food for these endangered animals.

5 calls before 9am today: hogs seen out in the day but either kept or 'watched'. All said it says online that hogs sometimes come out in day, it's normal. No matter where you see this, please know: IT'S WRONG IT'S DANGEROUS IT'S COSTING LIVES Please read:hedgehogcabin.info/out-in-th…

Like all babies, hedgehogs use taste to explore and make sense of their world, so please don't use products in your garden that would harm them, including fertilizer, weedkiller and paint or wood treatment. Remember, organic doesn't mean safe - strychnine is organic.

Absolutely, they are spreaders of joy! These unique little creatures unite communites like no other animal is able. I am so happy and thankful these precious souls have you.

Are you busting to mow your lawn? Please don't. Wait a month. Right now the hedgehog's future meals are overwintering in that long grass. And our future depends on the pollinators, whose first precious meal comes from the dandelions you'll allow to grow. The future is unmown.