Lawn mowers pose a hazard to hedgehogs during nighttime hours. - Robots Designed for Crop Harvesting Present a Deadly Threat to Hedgehogs
German Gardens and Wildlife: A Call for Nighttime Ban on Lawn Mowing Robots to Protect Hedgehogs
As spring arrives, gardening enthusiasts are pulling out their lawnmowers, marking the start of lawn care. Yet, for small creatures like hedgehogs, the rise of lawnmowing robots poses a deadly threat, particularly at night when they operate unsupervised. The Bund for Environment and Nature Conservation (BUND) in Baden-Württemberg, along with the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (Leibniz-IZW), are advocating for a nighttime ban on these robots. The hedgehog population is dwindling, and in 2020, it was added to the pre-warning list for the Red List of Germany, with international listing following in 2024.
Hedgehogs are uniquely vulnerable to lawnmowing robots at night due to their behavior. As twilight and night activity peak for many small mammals, hedgehogs curl up instead of fleeing. As a result, their number of injuries has significantly increased, as they are practically helpless against these machines. Injured or killed hedgehogs have surged nationwide, with 370 reported cases of cut injuries between June 2022 and October 2023, almost half of which did not survive.
Studies conducted by the University of Aalborg in Denmark tested 19 models of lawnmowers against dead hedgehogs. None of the models recognized the hedgehog without causing injury, be it a cut or worse. Research is also underway in Germany, with the Leibniz-IZW partnering with industry Crashtest-Service GmbH (CTS) in Münster to develop hedgehog dummies for standardized safety tests of lawnmowing robots.
Lawnmower manufacturers are not unaware of the risks. Stihl, a leading garden equipment manufacturer, acknowledges the injury risk to hedgehogs and has implemented features to reduce this risk, such as omitting night activation in pre-set mowing plans to protect crepuscular and nocturnal animals. Users can still opt for nighttime mowing if they so choose, but will receive a warning to avoid such settings for the protection of small animals.
Still, none of the currently tested lawnmower models have been deemed "hedgehog-friendly." Expert Anne Berger, from Leibniz-IZW, recommends those that employ artificial intelligence (AI) image recognition, often combined with laser or ultrasound. Mowing robot owners in municipalities like Erfurt and Mainz, who have already instituted nighttime bans for such devices, face fines up to €50,000 for ignoring these regulations.
Despite these concerns, no nationwide nighttime ban on lawnmowing robots has been implemented, as the Stuttgart Ministry of Agriculture considers it unnecessary. The WWF attributes the declining hedgehog population to a range of factors other than mowing robots, including agriculture, forestry, road traffic, and lack of suitable nesting and overwintering opportunities in tidy gardens.
While there are ongoing discussions about mowing robots and biodiversity in gardens, the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation plans to address this issue in 2026, focusing on creating technical guidelines for hedgehog-friendly mowing robots. In the meantime, conservationists advise using mowing robots in only part of the garden, allowing the grass to grow tall in other areas to offer shelter for hedgehogs and encourage biodiversity.
- The Federal Agency for Nature Conservation, in its future plans for 2026, intends to establish technical guidelines for the design of 'vocational training' programs aimed at creating 'hedgehog-friendly' lawnmowing robots, signifying a potential integration of 'environmental-science' and 'home-and-garden' practices.
- As the scientific community continues to investigate the impact of modern technology on wildlife, studies in 'science' and 'lifestyle' fields have shed light on the devastating consequences of using 'vocational training' devices like lawnmowing robots on small mammals like hedgehogs, highlighting the need for sustainable solutions in our daily routines.
