Bleak prospects for Germany’s free-living bison herd
Published: Tuesday, Mar 26th 2024, 10:40
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The prospects for Germany's only free-living bison herd and the once Europe-wide acclaimed species conservation project are bleak. After a long, paralyzing dispute and even after a search for a solution at a round table last autumn, there are still no prospects.
The conditions for saving the project have deteriorated even further. The 40 animals are currently "living in a newly constructed, approximately 25-hectare management enclosure on the territory of the town of Bad Berleburg, meaning that the release phase is currently over," a spokesperson for the Siegen-Wittgenstein district told the German Press Agency.
After an ongoing stalemate, North Rhine-Westphalian state politicians at the round table had recommended that the wandering herd be captured as quickly as possible and reduced to 20 to 25 animals - in other words, that several bison be transported to herds elsewhere in Europe. The elaborate preparations for implementation have not yet begun, and coordination is still ongoing "with other interested projects at home and abroad", according to the district administration.
Similar project in Switzerland
An initial herd of eight had been released in the south-east of North Rhine-Westphalia. The herd wandered beyond the intended project area and, according to forest farmers, caused extensive damage to trees. Some disputes were also fought out in court. In the fall of 2022, the sponsoring association declared the animals "ownerless" - and itself no longer responsible. The district and state of North Rhine-Westphalia were annoyed, and the end was already looming at the time.
The animals, which were wiped out in Switzerland around 1000 years ago, are also to be reintroduced in Switzerland. In an enclosure covering around 50 hectares in Welschenrohr in the Solothurn Jura, tests are being carried out to see whether bison can live as wild animals in the Jura. The aim of the project is to return bison to the wild in Switzerland in the future.
©Keystone/SDA
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