This Country is Considering Banning Robotic Lawn Mowing at Night for an Important Reason

Robotic lawnmowers are a convenient tool for keeping gardens tidy, but they may pose hidden dangers to wildlife.

Robotic lawnmowers have become increasingly popular among homeowners, offering the convenience of automated lawn care. These devices allow people to maintain perfectly trimmed lawns with minimal effort, making them a desirable addition to many gardens. However, as these machines become more common, concerns have arisen about their impact on local wildlife, particularly nocturnal animals like hedgehogs.

According to wildlife activists, robot lawnmowers are very dangerous for animals, both domestic and wild. While they efficiently trim the grass to leave a perfectly smooth lawn, they also pose a serious threat to wildlife. In Germany, animal rights activists are particularly concerned about hedgehogs, which are among the most common victims of these robots. The rapidly rotating blades can injure or kill hedgehogs that cross their path.

Hedgehogs are primarily nocturnal, which is when many households run their robotic lawnmowers. Animal rights activists have analyzed over 300 incidents involving hedgehogs, finding that nearly half of the animals did not survive a collision with a robot. This has led to growing discussions in Germany about banning the use of robotic lawnmowers at night. Some municipalities have already implemented night-time bans. For instance, in Cologne—a large city with more than one million inhabitants—a ban is currently being considered, with the timing dependent on the seasonal changes in twilight.

Animal rights activists are particularly concerned about hedgehogs because their population is declining each year. Several factors contribute to this decline, such as habitat loss, road traffic, pesticide use, and climate change, leading to their inclusion on the early warning red list.

However, there could be another solution to this problem. Manufacturers of robotic lawnmowers could equip these devices with special sensors or cameras to detect animals in their path. Some robotic lawnmowers on the market already use laser radar to recognize obstacles, and these technologies could potentially be adapted to detect moving animals as well.