The path from English lawn to animal cemetery - how robotic lawnmowers kill or cruelly mutilate animals

Well, I personally can't really understand this dream of an English lawn - but in my research I've noticed that I know many people who want nothing more than an almost carpet-like, fluffy, daisy- and dandelion-free, bright green lawn - not a meadow.

A robotic lawnmower can bring us closer to this dream and at the same time become an absolute nightmare for other garden inhabitants.

The instructions for use of such a marvel of technology rightly point out that the appliance must not be used without supervision or in the presence of children or pets.

The logical conclusion is that many garden and robot owners send the mower on its rounds at night - certainly without considering or perhaps even suspecting the consequences for other garden inhabitants.

The results are devastating: amphibians and insects are chopped up, frogs and toads suffer a similar fate or are mutilated, young hedgehogs and other small mammals such as squirrels and moles are scalped or have parts of their bodies cut off.

Simply miserable.

What to do to counteract this

If you really can't say goodbye to the idea of an English lawn that defies any kind of biodiversity, you could do some research before buying a robotic lawnmower - for example at Stiftung Warentest. You can find the latest results here.

Furthermore, the mower should not be used at night, because the risk of animals falling victim to it despite the contact stop is simply too great - and no lawn, however beautiful, is worth that.