Drone rescuer from Bad Liebenzell: Save fawns from mowing death!

Drone rescuer from Bad Liebenzell: Save fawns from mowing death!

In the rolling hills around Bad Liebenzell, technology floats over the meadows - and saves lives. Drone pilot Robert Schroeder from Möttlingen has discovered a passion for flying and a new mission that is close to his heart: rescuing deer fawns. Every year in Germany, an estimated 90,000 of these small animals are overlooked and run over in their hiding place in the tall grass during mowing. This happens mainly because the fawns have no escape instinct in the first few days of life. Thanks to modern technology, this should now change, as schwarzwaelder-bote.de reports.

The impetus for his rescue mission came from a veterinarian whose husband is a hunting tenant in Schömberg. She turned to Schroeder and asked him to use his drone to locate the fawns hidden in the meadow. This happens in the critical months from April to June when the fawns are laid by their mothers. The drone is not just a practical tool; It allows the animals to be located using thermal imaging cameras before the combine harvesters arrive.

Cooperation and technology

The missions are often started in the early hours of the morning in order to find the fawns hiding in the tall grass in good time. Similar to the team at Rehkitzrettung Brandenburg e.V., the approach requires discipline, technical understanding and strong nerves. Successful rescues motivate the helpers and show the farmers that a willingness to cooperate makes sense. However, there are voices who do not show the necessary insight when it comes to responsibility, even though many are legally obliged to check their fields for wild animals. Schroeder does this with a good hand: found fawns are carefully picked up with gloves and placed in transport boxes to wait at the edge of the field so that the mowing work can continue undisturbed.

Good news also comes from Berlin. The Federal Ministry for Digital Affairs has decided on a temporary change in the regulation of drone operations in order to make the use of such technologies easier. From 2024, new regulations will apply that, among other things, reduce the minimum distance to built-up areas to 10 meters, meaning that over 90 percent of previously restricted areas can now be used for drone use. More about this on drohnen.de.

Sustainable use for wild animals

This new regulation is intended not only to support animal welfare, but also to promote agriculture. The public sector has already taken note of the possibilities and is supporting the purchase of drones with thermal imaging cameras for such animal protection measures. A common goal is pursued here: to protect the habitat for wild animals and at the same time make the work of farmers easier. The combination of modern technology and human effort shows that a solution to the problem of fawns can be found.

In summary, rescuing fawns through the use of drones is a worthwhile way to protect small wild animals from atrocities during mowing. By working together, we can ensure that nature continues to have a place in rural areas.