Harsh criticism of district managers: winter gates for game are open, fences are broken, hikers run into them

Created: 02/11/2022 17:37

By: Alexander Kraus

A touchy subject: This © , submitted by the “Wildes Bayern” association, is intended to show the open winter gate at Kramer.

Photo: Association "Wild Bavaria"

Winter gates should help the deer to get through the winter in the mountain forest.

The "Wildes Bayern" association has harshly criticized the district manager of the Almhütte area.

The allegations: fences are broken, the gate is open, hikers would simply walk in from the Kramerplateauweg.

Garmisch-Partenkirchen – The opinions couldn’t be more contradictory: In a press release, the association “Wildes Bayern” massively complained about the conditions at the winter gate in the area of ​​the Almhütte am Kramer.

According to information from the association of animal and environmentalists, the gates were open there for days.

Trees got caught in the fences - and hikers walked through the gate.

Markus Achhammer, head of the responsible state forestry company in Oberammergau, denies the alleged abuses.

Rather, he asks “to avoid unnecessary disturbance of the game, to stay on the official hiking trails and to heed the numerous signs prohibiting representation of the fenced gate area”.

Red deer are lured into the gate until the onset of winter - then it is locked

Winter gates, such as in the area of ​​the alpine hut near Garmisch-Partenkirchen, are kept open until the onset of winter, and deer are deliberately lured in with food.

"By Christmas at the latest, the gates will then be closed and the game will be brought through the cold season with species-appropriate feed," explains Dr.

Christina Miller.

In the opinion of the chairmen of the "Wild Bavaria" organization, the winter gates - the state forests operate eight of these fenced areas in the district - should help to get red deer through the winter in the mountain forest in a species-appropriate manner, because they lack natural habitats and food reserves.

"At the Kramer, the winter hut is rotting away with open gates and trees in the fence," criticizes Miller, who claims to have photos of the evidence.

On it are opened entrances,

broken fences and hikers in the sanctuary.

The head of the Oberammergau forestry operation apparently has little idea of ​​what is going on in his operation, says the chairman.

Achhammer counters: “Of course the gate is now closed.

Unfortunately, due to the pandemic, we had to keep our two red deer show feeding stations Almhütte and Schattenwald closed for two years in a row.” However, the district manager leaves open whether the gate was open in the meantime, which Miller accuses him of.

In any case, the Almhütte area was closed before the Christmas heat began, he says.

"We are in constant contact with our local contacts and authorities for the purpose of visitor management, effective entry bans and thus protection of wild animals from unnecessary disturbances." not out of the gate,” he assures.

Winter gates may not be entered under any circumstances

There are clear statements from the State Ministry for Food, Agriculture and Forestry: "Hikers should not enter winter gates in view of the need for rest of deer," says spokesman Simon Springer.

In order to avoid disturbances, the right of access can be restricted by the authorities.

Achhammer agrees: "The passage is forbidden and is signposted in many places." Springer puts the requirements more concretely: "The hunting law only provides for an obligation of the hunting ground owner to ensure adequate game feeding in times of need and the necessary feeding systems to entertain.” He is free to do so-called “open feeding” or to offer food within the framework of the winter fence, which also serves as emergency feeding.

The district manager does not know the photos mentioned in the press release, he only knows something about a blog from February 7th.

"It should be mentioned that the photos were posted without a clear reference to the source and in some cases twice." Achhammer argues that individual images lack any spatial and temporal assignment to the Almhütte winter gate.

Another picture shows a person outside the winter gate, within sight of the Kramerplateauweg and thus exercising the free right of access.

The forest manager suspects that the person followed a red arrow or dot marking that unknown persons had attached.

Another grievance that "Wildes Bayern" denounces concerns the red deer shot in the alpine huts.

The chairperson relies on testimonies who saw haystacks near the open gates.

"So this was an attempt to lure deer in order to kill them - maybe also deer that were already in the gate?"

According to Markus Achhammer, feeding the deer in this way was not possible at all: "Red deer can now continue through the jumps into the gate, but not out," he says of the situation after Christmas.

"Aspects of hunting law in the context of the winter gates in operation are taken into account," adds Achhammer, adding that hunting is prohibited within a radius of 200 meters from the feeding area.