News · Environment · Published 15 July 2026
Sweden adds hedgehogs and eels to protected-species list
DailySweden Editorial Desk
Updated 08:30 · 2 min read
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Sweden has approved a revised national protected-species list that adds hedgehogs, eels and many pollinating insects while removing nationwide protection from several common plants.
The list, due to take effect on 1 November, contains just over 230 species, down from slightly under 300. It has more insects, lichens and fungi but fewer plants. New entries include the European hedgehog, the European eel, the lichen known in Swedish as örtlav and the fungus raggtaggsvamp.
The government says hedgehog numbers have declined over the past decade and that the national red list was used to identify species with the greatest protection needs.
Native amphibians and reptiles, orchids and clubmosses will remain protected. Hepatica, cowslip and ivy will lose nationwide protection because they were assessed as viable in the latest red list.
The decision changes Sweden's national rules, not protection derived from EU law. It also preserves a special exception for ongoing land use such as agriculture and forestry, limiting how far the rules can restrict those activities. The orchid creeping lady's-tresses will retain basic protection but, according to the government, will no longer block forestry measures in the same way.
The package also sits alongside new compensation rules for land-use restrictions caused by species protection.
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