Biber flood: Farmer fights against flooded meadows in Brenden!

Biber flood: Farmer fights against flooded meadows in Brenden!

Brenden, Deutschland - Wilfried Leuter, a 54-year-old farmer from Brenden at Wolfegg, is ankle-deep in the water-his meadow is flooded, and all of this because of a beaver nest. The native rodent has built several dams since its settlement four years ago, which have now transformed two hectares of its meadows into an uneconomical water. Leuter can no longer manage his once profitable grassland, which leads to considerable financial losses. "It was the best food for my animals," he complains. His neighbors are also affected.

The legal Situation for the beaver is complex: the EU environmental guidelines protect the way strictly, and a hunt for the animals is therefore prohibited. The State Farmers' Association of Baden-Württemberg and Leuten are calling for a loosening of the protective guidelines, while the Ministry of the Environment emphasizes that a lethal withdrawal can only be considered as a last remedy. Despite the increased population of the beaver, which can no longer be classified as threatened, the problem for farmers remains serious. Leuten feels threatened in his existence: "For me it sometimes feels like a kind of expropriation." Further details are in an article by www.schwaebische.de to read.