Animal welfare too high?

Fish farmer threatened with extinction

Desperate about the losses: Thomas Muschl and his Tamara.(Bild: Imre Antal)

The existence of the largest trout farm in the Waldviertel is threatened by otters & co. An ever-growing band of predators is causing hundreds of tons of damage to the stocks. However, in a cultivated natural landscape with many fish ponds, Thomas Muschl is not the only one who is severely affected by strictly protected predators.

"We do everything we can in our 24 natural ponds to offer healthy salmonids, from brown trout to rainbow trout and char, a fish-friendly life, so to speak. But we now have a five-figure loss of fingerlings," explains Thomas Muschl, who is doing everything he can to support the stocks at Großreinprechts in the district of Krems. But there are also predators such as the mink, which was once freed from fur farms by animal rights activists and now - thanks to Mother Nature's skills as a good swimmer and diver - enjoys feasting on the scaly aquatic creatures.

At night, it builds everything up and disrupts the water system.

Fischzüchter Thomas Muschl hat auch mit dem Biber Probleme.

Mink, heron, otter and beaver
They are joined by fish predators such as herons and otters. According to Muschl, all of this together is a real threat to their existence! As if that wasn't enough, the restless beaver also causes him sleepless nights: "It builds everything up at night and messes up the water system."

Dramatic effects on fish
The drastic effect: the ponds are no longer fed by the "blockages". According to the dedicated breeder, everything together leads to constant stress for his finfish: "The heron during the day, then the mink at night. This causes the trout to stop eating." Like Muschl, dozens of other colleagues in the far north of Lower Austria are also experiencing the same problem. The unconditional protection of the otter, which is protected by environmental organizations without ifs and buts, threatens the end of a centuries-old tradition.