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Hedgehogs at Risk: Night-time Mowing Robots and the Call for Restrictions
Gardens across Germany are home to mowing robots, which keep the lawn trim without human intervention. However, these devices pose a deadly threat to nocturnal hedgehogs. As Julia Stubenbord, the state animal welfare officer in Baden-Württemberg, explains, hedgehogs do not flee from these robots but curl up instead. As a result, the number of injured hedgehogs has seen an alarming increase.
In light of this concern, environmental organizations such as the Bund für Umwelt und Naturschutz (BUND) in Baden-Württemberg, and the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (Leibniz-IZW), have called for a night driving ban for mowing robots in the region. Cities such as Cologne, Mainz, and soon Erfurt have already implemented such regulations.
Preliminary data from the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research revealed that between the end of June 2022 and the end of October 2023, researchers documented 370 cases of cut injuries in hedgehogs nationwide. Approximately half ofthe found and reported animals did not survive their injuries. Additionally, there is a considerable number of unreported injured or killed animals, as hedgehogs often flee to safe hedges and bushes after being injured.
Anne Berger from Leibniz-IZW stated that at least 60 percent of the injured hedgehogs with cut injuries were discovered days or even weeks after the accident. These animals must have endured prolonged suffering during that time.
The dwindling number of hedgehogs is not solely attributable to mowing robots. These small, spiky mammals are struggling to find suitable habitats in modern agricultural landscapes and well-maintained gardens. Many hedgehogs are running over or struggling to find food due to the rapid decline in insects.
In Germany, the European hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus) is on the watchlist of the Red List and is categorized as "potentially threatened" on the international Red List of the IUCN.
While there is ongoing research on making robotic lawnmowers safer for hedgehogs, the debate over implementing night driving bans for these devices grows alongside concerns for the threatened population of hedgehogs in Germany.
1) "Environmental organizations, including BUND in Baden-Württemberg and Leibniz-IZW, are urging a night driving ban for mowing robots to safeguard the environment and the health of hedgehogs, following reports of an increase in injured hedgehogs due to these devices."
2) "The science community, such as the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, is diligently working to create safer robotic lawnmowers and mitigate the impacts on the environment and wildlife, particularly the endangered European hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus)."
