From today, a night-time ban on robot mowers applies throughout the city of Chemnitz. The City of Chemnitz, as the lower nature conservation authority, has issued a general order banning the use of robotic lawnmowers at night.
To protect hedgehogs and other small vertebrates, the operation of robotic lawnmowers is prohibited from half an hour before sunset until half an hour after sunrise the following day.
Robot mowers, robot lawn mowers or robot lawn mowers are all service robots that can automatically mow a specified area of lawn.
The ban does not apply to the operation of robotic lawnmowers in enclosed spaces or on roofs with lawns. An exception to the ban can be applied for and granted by the Lower Nature Conservation Authority of the City of Chemnitz if it can be proven that in a specific individual case there is no danger to the life and limb of hedgehogs and other small vertebrates through the use of a robotic mower.
A decline in the population of the European hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus) has been observed in various European countries in recent decades. The European hedgehog is a specially protected species under the German Federal Nature Conservation Act.
There are many reasons for the population decline. One of the causes is considered to be excessive green maintenance. Hedgehogs mainly search for food in insulation and at night. In addition to green spaces and parks, they also forage in gardens. In gardens in particular, robotic lawnmowers are increasingly being used, which are a major source of danger for numerous small vertebrates, especially hedgehogs.
Hedgehogs are particularly at risk as they are not flight animals. Instead, they curl up and rely on the protection of their spines. This often results in severe cuts or severed limbs, which often lead to death. Another problem is that many robotic mower models do not recognise small animals without touching them first. Contrary to the claims of many manufacturers, scientific studies show that the robotic lawnmowers only stopped and turned off after they came into direct contact with the hedgehogs.
After analysing the data from three animal rescue and care centres, at least 47 hedgehogs were injured with cuts by the use of gardening tools in the city of Chemnitz in 2024, of which at least 24 hedgehogs with cuts died. There was a significant increase in hedgehog care cases in the city of Chemnitz from 2022 to 2023 and again in 2024. In the area covered by the three animal rescue and care centres in south-west Saxony, there is also evidence of a doubling of care cases with cuts in 2024 compared to the previous year.
It is assumed that the number of unreported cases is significantly higher, as injured hedgehogs usually hide and are therefore not found or the carcasses are eaten by other animals.
According to the Federal Nature Conservation Act, it is prohibited to stalk, capture, injure or kill wild animals of specially protected species or to remove, damage or destroy their developmental forms from the wild.
Link to the general ruling: