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Mowing work on a Gröbenzeller railway embankment called for hedgehog life - the Bund Naturschutz is angry

2021-11-23T08:23:08.671Z


Groebenzell - They were already sleeping peacefully well-fed, only to go on their wanderings again next spring. But at least four hedgehogs will not wake up from their hibernation. Chopped up their remains are still lying on the 200-meter-long, previously mowed embankment near the Groebenzell train station. The Bund Naturschutz is appalled. There will be no punishment for those responsible.


Groebenzell - They were already sleeping peacefully well-fed, only to go on their wanderings again next spring. But at least four hedgehogs will not wake up from their hibernation. Chopped up their remains are still lying on the 200-meter-long, previously mowed embankment near the Groebenzell train station. The Bund Naturschutz is appalled. There will be no punishment for those responsible.

Residents reported this “sacrilege against sleeping hedgehogs” to the Gröbenzell Nature Conservation Association last week. Ariane Zuber then made himself an on-site picture. She found the remains of four hedgehogs and was able to confirm the message from the local residents. "We reported the case to the Lower Nature Conservation Authority of the District Office," says the animal rights activist. For a long time it was not clear who was responsible for the dead animals, which, according to Zuber, have been on the Red List of Endangered Species since 2017.


At the weekend it became clear: Deutsche Bahn had commissioned a subcontractor for the mowing work.

According to Zuber, the employees could have searched the meadow before they started mowing.

“It would have been questionable whether they would have found all the curled up hedgehogs,” she admits.

The employees also didn't have to cut the grass so close to the ground, according to the conservationist.

"The railway regrets the case very much," says Zuber, but that certainly does not bring the hedgehogs back to life.


Evacuation zone

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The place of the event: The railway embankment in Gröbenzell.

© BN Groebenzell

The railway has stated that the green strip next to the tracks is an evacuation zone that is regularly used for inspection corridors and must therefore be mowed so strictly to avoid tripping hazards. The lower nature conservation authority has declared the incident an "accident". “They assume an accident, also because there are no machines that the hedgehogs could have recognized beforehand, unlike in agriculture and with larger animals,” she explains. So the subcontractor does not face any penalty. The Bund Naturschutz nevertheless hopes that perhaps money will be donated to a hedgehog sanctuary - "but we will probably fall on deaf ears."


Zuber hopes that no more dead animals will be found, as the mowing work went beyond the 200-meter-long embankment and that employees will pay more attention to the threatened animals in the future.

She would also like the Bund Naturschutz and local residents to be informed before the next mowing.

Kohr

About the hedgehog

Hedgehogs curl up in a ball in case of danger, so do not flee.

Hedgehogs hibernate in Germany for around five months from October onwards.

In order to survive hibernation, the animals must have a body weight of at least 500 grams.

Their natural enemies include predators such as martens and foxes.

The eagle owl and badger are also among its predators. 

Source: merkur

All news articles on 2021-11-23

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