Night-Time Lighting and Wildlife Welfare

Artificial light at night disrupts the behaviour, physiology, and welfare of vast numbers of wild animals across terrestrial and marine ecosystems, with impacts that are growing as lighting spreads globally.

Key Facts

Global artificial light at night is increasing by approximately 2% per year in brightness and extent
Sea turtle hatchlings use the brightness of the ocean horizon to navigate to the sea, and are fatally confused by artificial coastal lights
Light pollution disrupts melatonin production, migration timing, and foraging behaviour in birds and mammals
Insects are attracted to artificial lights where they die from exhaustion or predation — estimated at 100 billion insects per summer in Germany alone
Dark sky reserves and shielded lighting technology can dramatically reduce wildlife light pollution impacts

Welfare Considerations

Artificial light at night is a pervasive and growing source of animal welfare harm that affects species from sea turtle hatchlings to migratory birds to insects. The welfare mechanisms are diverse: sea turtle hatchlings following beach lights instead of the sea die on land from exhaustion and predation; migratory birds disoriented by urban lights collide with buildings or fly in wrong directions; insects attracted to lights die exhausted. The aggregate welfare impact across billions of individual animals is enormous. Light pollution is also one of the most technically solvable environmental problems: shielded, directional, warm-spectrum lighting dramatically reduces wildlife impacts while maintaining human utility.

What You Can Do

Use shielded, directional, warm-spectrum outdoor lighting that minimises sky glow
Turn off unnecessary outdoor lights or install motion sensors
Support dark sky reserves and community light pollution ordinances
During sea turtle nesting season, follow beach lighting guidelines to protect hatchlings
Advocate for wildlife-sensitive lighting standards in building codes and road design