Freiburg/Bad Wildbad (dpa/lsw) – The handling of red deer in the areas in the south-west should be re-regulated: This is the conclusion reached by the Forestry Research and Testing Institute of Baden-Württemberg (FVA) in the “Northern Black Forest Red Deer Conception” project. Accordingly, the red deer and hinds should be given quiet zones in certain parts of the forest, for example. Tourists, on the other hand, should be given areas where they can hike or cycle without disturbing the animals.
Red deer, the largest native mammal species in Baden-Württemberg, is often a thorn in the side of farmers or forest owners because the animals can cause significant bite damage to trees. Hunters, on the other hand, demand that red deer be given more space and that they must be able to live in a species-appropriate manner. It must be allowed that the animals, which mainly live in five designated areas in the southwest, are given new habitats and that deer and deer can also migrate back and forth between individual areas. According to earlier information, the Ministry of Agriculture, on the other hand, wants to stick to the concept of deer areas, which it believes has proven itself.
The FDP parliamentary group leader Hans-Ulrich Rülke supports the position of the FVA. “In the past, we have also asked the state government several times to regulate the handling of red deer. However, to this day they have not shown any willingness to ensure holistic wild animal management. In doing so, they accept that our heraldic animal is threatened with genetic impoverishment.” While wolves, beavers, cormorants and the like could spread unhindered throughout the country and threaten the livelihoods of grazers, farmers or fishermen, the red deer have the least habitat available nationwide.
The red deer in the southwest live in the red deer areas of the Odenwald, Northern Black Forest, Southern Black Forest, Schönbuch and Allgäu. Most of the animals, between 4,500 and 5,500, live in the largest 105,000-hectare area of northern Black Forest that the current project was concerned with. In total there are between almost 5000 and 6000 animals in the southwest. Only around 4 percent of the state area and around 10 percent of the forest area are inhabited by red deer – this means that the south-west has the least living space for the animals nationwide.
The possible genetic impoverishment of the species is also a cause for concern. The animals live freely in the red deer areas and can also leave them, with the exception of the fenced-in Schönbuch area. Outside of these areas, however, according to the hunting regulations, they must be shot without exception during the hunting season. As a result, the animals in the areas mostly keep to themselves and hardly ever wander back and forth, explained FVA expert Max Kröschel. How to deal with this problem is currently being investigated in another study.
For the current project, the researchers had been investigating movement patterns – for example with the help of transmitters on selected red deer – as well as genetics and game damage in the northern Black Forest red deer region since 2015. They also asked hunters, foresters and landowners about their worries and fears about the species. The state hunting association welcomed the approach. “Communication between the actors must be improved,” said a spokesman.
© dpa-infocom, dpa:230722-99-492831/3
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