Bad Berleburg (dpa / lnw) – In the long-standing legal dispute over Germany’s only free-living herd of bison, the project’s sponsoring association has withdrawn its appeal before the Federal Court of Justice. After a note from Karlsruhe that an appeal against the judgments of the Hamm Higher Regional Court should not be successful, a decision was made, said a spokesman for the association in Bad Berleburg on dpa request on Wednesday. The WDR had previously reported. There has been a dispute about the species protection project in the Rothaargebirge for a long time.
The herd, which has meanwhile grown to 25 animals, does not only roam through the Rothaargebirge – as actually expected – but also through the neighboring Sauerland and gnaws off beech bark on the properties of local forest owners. The spokesman for the sponsoring association said that as soon as the written BGH decision was available, the judgments of the OLG Hamm would become final. Two forest farmers from Schmallenberg in the Sauerland had complained. In the future, the bison association would have to prevent the cattle from entering the property of one plaintiff and prevent damage to the trees by the bison in the case of the other plaintiff.
Cattle were almost extinct in Europe for a long time. With the help of reintroduction projects and breeding programs, especially in Eastern Europe, the worldwide population has grown again to 8500 animals. The animals were released into the wild in the Rothaargebirge in 2013. Project partners are the supporting association, the Siegen-Wittgenstein district and the Arnsberg district government as representatives of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia.
The Wisente Association emphasized that they would work together with the two partners to implement it and examine possible measures together. It is also to be explored whether a kind of cooperation with the plaintiffs can be found. In principle, it continues to apply that species protection must be observed in accordance with the strict requirements of the Nature Conservation Act.
A few months ago, a report made it clear that the project could only be continued with a major international partner. A small club cannot handle the tasks. In addition, adequate financing of at least half a million euros per year is needed – also to ensure that forest owners’ claims for compensation for their damage caused by the bison are met.
The sponsoring association also hopes for politics. With a new legal basis for the Wisente project, the situation could possibly change. In the new NRW government, Oliver Krischer, a Green politician, is Minister for the Environment and Nature Conservation.
