Beaver problem in Salzburg: Farmers fight for nature violence!

Beaver problem in Salzburg: Farmers fight for nature violence!

Deuting, Österreich - Beavers in Salzburg are increasingly causing excitement among the farmers, especially in Pinzgau. The population is estimated at around 360 to 400 animals, and their rapid growth has already led to problems. In Deuting, farmers fight the damage caused by the beavers because they dug their fields. "We break in with machines. This causes damage to the machines," says the farmer Michael Gassner. In the Region, beaver dams are increasingly occurred on the drainage trenches between the fields. The affected farmers feel abandoned, because compensation payments for the damage caused are long in coming, reported Orf Salzburg .

conflicts about key species

The beaver is considered a key type that has a decisive influence on its ecosystems, similar to the wolf or the wisent. His return can promote important ecological processes, but there are also tensions between the interests of agriculture and nature conservation. While the back settlement of the beaver is one of the many natural projects that aim to restore lost ecosystem functions, practice often remains shaped by conflicts. The researchers of the Leibniz Institute for Water Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB) emphasize that the discussion about the beaver is not just black or white, which illustrates the challenges that are connected to the resettlement of such animals, such as IGB reported.

Despite the consciousness for the ecological advantages of the beaver return, the question of responsible management arises in order to take into account both the interests of farmers and the ongoing protection of these animals. So far, the state government has no concrete plans to steer the beavers, so that they are still under strict protection. The farmers demand measures to contain the negative consequences of the beaver population, while at the same time the importance of the beaver for the ecological balance is emphasized.