Woe when the donkey screams

Created: 12/07/2022 11:02 am

By: Andrea Graepel

Also in 2011 there was a donkey in the manger © Municipality of Andechs

For 44 years, along with the sheep, the ox and donkey were just as much a part of the living crib on the Holy Mountain in Andechs as Joseph and Mary, the shepherds and the Three Kings.

This year, for the first time, the crèche had to do without ox and donkey – also because animal rights activists threatened to press charges.

Andechs

– The topic of donkeys has been on Sylvia Essig and Mayor Georg Scheitz for weeks.

The administrative employee in the Andechs town hall has been organizing the Christmas market on the Holy Mountain for ten years with its famous living crib, which is traditionally set up for the duration of the market on the second weekend in Advent and is staffed by actors by the hour.

The cast has always included a donkey, an ox, which is a calf for safety reasons, and sheep.

"That was never a problem," says Scheitz, who, as a boy from Erlingen, has known the crèche since childhood.

“They are actually really cozy with lots of bedding.

The owners were always nearby,” says Sylvia Essig.

According to Scheitz, the last donkey served as a crib for at least 15 years without any problems.

"It was too old now, so we needed a new one." And so the search began.

Sylvia Essig got on the phone and finally had a firm commitment – ​​until the owner was threatened by animal rights activists with a complaint about violating the Animal Welfare Act.

The cancellation came one day before the start of the Christmas market.

"I can understand the pet owners," says Sylvia Essig in an interview with Starnberger Merkur.

"If the donkey babbles just once in the manger, someone will surely come and ask if he feels well at all." And the animal would have screamed with a high degree of certainty because he would have missed the second donkey with whom he is usually together .

This year the donkey was sent back to the stable at home.

© Photographer: Andrea Jaksch

The people of Andechs had tried everything to do justice to animal welfare - on Friday they initially let both donkeys run free together with sheep.

"But it got too busy with the actors in the crèche," says Sylvia Essig.

The animals were quickly brought back to their stables.

And what about the calf?

In order to have enough space for the donkeys, the people of Andechs had waived it from the outset - something that could not be undone so shortly before the start of the market.

"It would have taken a few days to get used to being attached," explains Georg Scheitz, who is a farmer himself.

"We didn't even ask anymore.

Unfortunately, that's how it ended this year.” So with sheep, but without ox and donkey.

There would probably have been enough space for a donkey: the stable area must be large enough for the donkey to lie down.

Twice the square of the height at the withers is recommended, at least five square meters per donkey.

Scheitz wants to remove the breeding ground for the tiresome discussion next year and make more space available to the animals.

The mayor has a kind of petting zoo in mind so that the crèche can be completely occupied again.