Shock after tree cutting: baby squirrel urgently needs help!

Shock after tree cutting: baby squirrel urgently needs help!

A few days ago, an injured baby squirrel was taken in at the Pfotenhilfe animal shelter in the Salzburg/Upper Austria border region. The little animal, which had fallen from its nest for unknown reasons, was brought by a cat and was in a deplorable condition: hypothermic and seriously injured with its eyes closed. Johanna Stadler, the managing director of Pfotenhilfe, announced that the squirrel is now being raised with a bottle. Every year, animal rights activists look after hundreds of young animals that had to grow up without their mothers, including mice, birds and foxes, which ultimately have to be released back into the wild in their hands because wild animals should not live in human care. However, this moving rearing is only part of the problem that currently occurs all too often in spring.

Tree cutting endangers wildlife

With spring comes the annual discussion about the dangers of tree trimming for wildlife. Animal protection organizations such as Pfotenhilfe warn urgently about the consequences of uncontrolled cutting measures, which are not legally regulated in Austria. Loud oe24.at Young animals can be endangered when trees and bushes are pruned. In Germany, pruning of trees is prohibited by law between March 1st and September 30th to protect wild animals such as squirrels. In Austria, however, there are no such regulations, which leads Pfotenhilfe to urgently call for legal measures. “Every year many mothers lose their young because they run away in panic and don’t come back,” explains Stadler.

In addition, Pfotenhilfe has pointed out that it is not only squirrels that suffer from such cutting measures. Many other wildlife, including birds and insects, are also at risk and dying, which could worsen species extinctions. “Why there is no such law in Austria is incomprehensible,” said Stadler. The raising of baby squirrels and the large number of wild animal orphans that find a new home every year at Paw Help are an alarming sign that more protective measures are needed to preserve animals in their natural habitat ots.at reported.