Light pollution drowning out two thirds of stars Excess light at night can disorientate mammals like bats, prevent nocturnal birds like owls from hunting at night and delay the dawn chorus in birds that live in urban areas. The new survey, carried out by the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) and the Campaign for Dark Skies (CfDS), was carried out by 981 volunteers during a week in February. Orion, which lies over the equator and can be seen throughout the world, is one of the most easily recognisable constellations in the night sky. From some prime stargazing locations like the Atacama Desert in South America hundreds of individual stars can be made out in between the four brightest points which mark the edges of the constellation, while from Britain on a dark night at least 30 should be visible. But the survey found that 14 per cent of people could only see five or fewer stars, such as those which comprise the hunter's famous belt, while another 39 per cent reported being able to spot between six and ten. The results suggest that there has been no improvement in light pollution since similar surveys were carried out in 2007 and 2011, in spite of efforts by local authorities to tackle the problem by dimming or turning off some street lights at night. Emma Marrington, CPRE Rural Policy Campaigner, said: "All too often we hear poor excuses for bad or excessive lighting. Of course we need the right, well-designed lighting in the right places - and some areas need to be lit for safety reasons - but there should not be a blanket assumption that glaring lights are needed. Bob Mizon, of CfDS, added: "Light pollution is a disaster for anyone trying to study the stars. It's like a veil of light is being drawn across the night sky, denying many people the beauty of a truly starry night. Many children growing up today will never see the Milky Way; never see the unimaginable glory of billions of visible stars shining above them.