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Bergisch Gladbach (dpa / lnw) - When farmers mow their meadows in spring, fawns threaten a cruel death - that's why hunters, farmers and other helpers are on duty to rescue them from the tall grass in good time.
They are increasingly using drones with thermal imaging cameras.
For their acquisition, 22 district hunting associations from North Rhine-Westphalia have received a total of almost 190,000 euros from a state funding program in the past few weeks, as the State Office for Nature, Environment and Consumer Protection (LANUV) announced on dpa request.
"So far we have searched the meadows with dogs and set up poles with fluttering tapes or balloons so that the mother animals can get their fawns out of the meadows," says the chairman of the district hunters' association (KJS) Mönchengladbach, Udo Robling.
However, these methods are time-consuming and not always successful.
Because of their so-called pusher instinct, the fawns do not run away when danger is imminent, but crouch flat in the tall grass and lie there immobile.
“This means that you only see them when you stand directly in front of them - or when it's too late,” explains Robling.
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Now the KJS has acquired two drones - one of which is largely from state funds - that can fly over the meadows and track down hidden fawns.
Five members have already completed their training as drone pilots and are now practicing practical work until the start of the mowing.
Farmers could book appointments for free.
The KJS of the Rheinisch Bergisches Kreis also wants to use two drones in the future.
"When a farmer wanted to mow, we always used messenger service to round up volunteers who searched the meadow," said spokesman Rolf Huckriede.
"We hope that the whole thing will be a little faster and more effective in the future."
If a fawn is found, the helpers carefully cover it with tufts of grass and carry it from the meadow with a laundry basket, as Robling explains.
It then remains at a safe distance under the basket that has been pulled over until the danger is over and the mother can pick up her child.
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Fawn rescue has long been an important concern of hunters and farmers, says the spokesman for the State Hunting Association of North Rhine-Westphalia, Andreas Schneider.
To protect the animals, a number of methods have been established in the past, such as mowing the meadows from the inside out.
However, the development of drone technology has given the topic a new dynamic in the last few years.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210425-99-342898 / 2
Fawn rescue in Mönchengladbach
Information on the federal funding program