The hedgehog: Animal of the Year 2026, beloved and on the Red List
Pro Natura has chosen the brown-breasted hedgehog as Animal of the Year 2026. Over the past ten years, the hedgehog population in Western Europe has declined by up to 33 percent. In Switzerland, it has been classified as potentially endangered since 2022.
Hardly any wild animal enjoys as much affection in Switzerland as the hedgehog.
Nevertheless, the West European hedgehog barely finds shelter and food in large parts of agriculturally used areas any more. That is why today it lives mainly in loosely built-up areas of our villages and towns.
On 5 January 2026, Pro Natura declared the West European hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus) the Animal of the Year. Not because it is faring well, but because it needs help.
Decline of up to 33 per cent
Over the past ten years, the number of Western European hedgehogs has fallen by between 16 and 33 per cent depending on the country. In Flanders in Belgium and in Bavaria even by 50 per cent. In Switzerland, the hedgehog has been on the Red List as potentially endangered since 2022. In 2024, the International Union for Conservation of Nature IUCN also classified it as threatened.
The causes are known: intensification of agriculture, roads and urban development are destroying its habitat. In addition, hedgehogs usually produce offspring only once a year. Those that die are not quickly replaced.
Robotic mowers, cars, gravel gardens
In residential areas other dangers lurk: cars on nocturnal migration routes, missing leaf piles for hibernation, robotic mowers that work at night. Gravel gardens offer neither shelter nor food. Fenced gardens without any gaps cut the hedgehog off from its home range, which can span several hectares.
What helps now
Pro Natura calls for gardens, green spaces, cemeteries and parks to be designed in a hedgehog-friendly way. Anyone who supports hedgehogs also helps insects, dormice, wrens and many other species. In March 2026, Pro Natura launched the Bonjour Nature campaign, with garden advice and certifications for near-natural gardens.
The hedgehog is not a victim of hobby hunting. It is a victim of the way we shape our landscape and our gardens. Anyone who wishes to learn more about how humans intervene in wild animal habitats will find background information on this platform about wild animals in Switzerland and about environmental and nature conservation policy.
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