21/10/2026
This bonfire season, the British Hedgehog Preservation Society (BHPS) are letting people know the small steps they can take to protect wildlife when lighting bonfires this autumn season ๐ฆ ๐
A bonfire pile looks, to a hedgehog, the perfect readymade home to hibernate in over winter; they have no idea it's about to be set alight!
BHPS is asking anyone who might be taking part in or hosting a bonfire this autumn or winter to follow the three simple steps: Stop, Move, and Check
- Stop: Consider if you need to have a bonfire or if there are community events you could attend instead. The fewer bonfires there are, the less risk to wildlife
- Move: Try to only build a bonfire the day it's going to be lit, and move all of the materials to a new area before burning, incase wildlife have decided to hide inside the pile
- Check: Before lighting from one side only, check the entire bonfire carefully for wildlife, and lift each section as you look. Try not to use a spade, a fork, or anything else that could cause harm to wildlife
If you do find a hedgehog or other wildlife in an unlit bonfire heap:
- Gather it up with it's nest and place in a high sided box
- Use gardening gloves or something to pad your hands to handle them
- Put the box somewhere safe and quiet, such as a shed or garage, that's away from the festivities
- Once the bonfire embers are completely dampened down, release the hedgehog under a hedge or back to where it was found, with as much of the original nest as possible
