Wisente species protection project before the end: what next? | Sciences

06/07/2023, 06:55

For Germany’s only free-living herd of bison, the Roundtable is looking for perspectives after the announced end of a once-celebrated species protection project. After the talks, the forest growers’ association in North Rhine-Westphalia announced today that the group is meeting for the first time with a smaller crew.

“With a global population of just 8,500 bison, we have a huge responsibility,” emphasized Board Member Theo Josef Nagel. “What happens here is being watched internationally.”

Bison are the largest land mammals in Europe. Ten years ago, a herd of eight wild cattle was released on the Wittgensteiner Land in Rotargebirge. The European bison was thought to be nearly extinct for a long time. The project has received a lot of attention. But the herd migrated and caused particular damage to the beech. Forest owners sued for damages.

In the fall of 2022, the herd, which had grown to about 25 prisons by then, was finally declared by the sponsoring association to be “masterless.” The project is now “the responsibility of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia”. Meanwhile, the bison continue to roam. “The herd now consists of about 40 heads and has split up: half of them are in the Segerland, the other in the Hochsauerland,” said Nagel. A solution is urgently needed.

The round table should now explain how the project will proceed. The details of the intermediate ideas or modes were not known in advance. The Forest Growers Association did not expect an amicable solution on Thursday. Officially, the group should complete its work in the fall.