Earlier dusk: animal rights activists for economical outdoor lighting

Status: 26.10.2022 4:50 p.m

Time changes on weekends, so it gets dark earlier in the evenings. However, animal rights activists recommend economical outdoor lighting: artificial light can have serious consequences for animals that are active at dusk and at night.

Animal rights activists are calling for the outside lighting to be switched on with care, despite the time change on Sunday (October 30) and the earlier dawn. According to the German Wildlife Foundation, more than 30 percent of all vertebrates and around 60 percent of invertebrates are active at dusk and at night. Artificial light is often a death sentence for these animals. “Their natural landmarks are the stars and the moon, artificial light can really mess them up in their habitat,” it says.

With a view to the energy crisis, the foundation also pointed out that less lighting saves energy costs. This also benefits the environment and climate.

Warning of short-wave light in particular

Above all, the short-wave light, which shines in the blue and ultraviolet range, influences the daily rhythm of wild animals. It attracts nocturnal insects, for example, which then circle around artificial light sources until they are exhausted. Important predator-prey relationships could be affected and migratory birds thrown off course by lights from skyscrapers and office towers, the foundation says.

And songbirds such as sparrows, robins, wrens or tits are threatened with far-reaching consequences: if their sleeping places are illuminated by spotlights or Christmas lights, the natural day-night rhythm of the birds could be disrupted. In the cold season, however, they would have to conserve their own body energy. In addition, they could start reproducing earlier, but then not find any food for the offspring.

Animal rights activists advise using bulbs with a color temperature of less than 3000 Kelvin for outdoor lighting. Long-wave, warm-white or orange-colored light is more wildlife-friendly than short-wave light. The most insect-friendly and at the same time energy-saving are LED lamps in warm white colors.

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