Kassel (dpa/lhe) – During the energy crisis, more wood is stolen from the Hessian forests. Especially in the past few weeks, there has been an increase in wood theft – “also on a larger scale,” reported Michelle Sundermann, spokeswoman for “HessenForst”. However, the state company could not provide any information on more precise figures.
Sundermann therefore recommends that buyers transport the wood they have purchased out of the forest as quickly as possible in order to avoid wood theft. The Hessian forest offices had GPS trackers that can be used if necessary to trace future thefts, it said.
In Germany, no wood may be taken from the forest. On the one hand, that would legally be theft from the owner of the forest. In addition, the preservation of deadwood stocks is important to ensure biodiversity in the forests, according to Sundermann.
Anyone who would like to obtain firewood legally from the forest can submit a purchase request online to “HessenForst”. Demand has increased significantly this year: “All quotas that we put online are always gone within a few days,” reported Sundermann.
Sundermann pointed out that anyone who buys firewood now for fear of high energy prices will not have any of the alternative fresh from the forest in the coming winter. “The wood is raw material that the buyer must first saw, split and dry before it can be used after one to two years, depending on the tree species.”
