A Wild Bison Was Spotted in Germany for the First a Time in 250 Years – So Authorities Shot It Dead




World Wildlife Fund is filing charges

A calf of a European bison heard pictured in the Rothaargebirge mountain on May 5, 2014 near Bad Berleburg, Germany. Thomas Lohnes / Getty Images





The World Wildlife Fund says it will be filing charges against German officials who shot a wild bison believed to be the first of its kind spotted in the country in over 250 years.

Police say a man spotted the bison near the Oder River just east of Berlin, The Local reports.

Local officials deemed the creature a threat to community safety and ordered it to be killed.

“Giving permission to shoot a strongly protected animal without a clear potential threat is a criminal offence,” Chris Heinrich, a WWF board member said in a statement.

“After more than 250 years a wild bison had been spotted again in Germany and all the authorities could think to do is shoot it.”


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One response to “A Wild Bison Was Spotted in Germany for the First a Time in 250 Years – So Authorities Shot It Dead”

  1. Sarah Avatar
    Sarah

    Although I find the killing of the bison detestable, it does make me ruminate on why the officials killed the animal, other than just for human safety. I hear rumors that cougars are spotted in Pennsylvania, but wildlife officials won’t own up to the sitings (maybe they know, maybe they don’t). I’ve heard that turning a blind eye is a way to allow the cougars to live, but not deal with the mountain of paperwork that would be involved with determining numbers statewide, conducting surveys, determining threats to humans and livestock, developing a “managed” level (how many can we have before we start allowing sport hunters to kill them?), etc. I’m not against management of animals if they present a pressure to the natural landscape (deer vs native vegetation that cannot regenerate), but I’m not for the wanton killing of animals who were here first and are trying to come back, especially carnivores (like prairie dogs that support their hunters, the black-footed ferrets). Interesting dilemma.