Out and about with dogs

Hunters save cute bambis from mowing death

Fawns do not run away when an enemy - or a combine harvester - approaches. They duck down, just as nature intended. What protects them from predators is fatal when a combine harvester or tractor comes along.(Bild: Charlotte Titz)

May marks the start of the mowing and threshing season. Since then, Paul Moser and Thomas Waldsich have a lot to do. They make sure that no fawns are killed in the process. 

The two district hunters in the Nickelsdorf West district are out and about almost every day with their dogs "Amsel" and "Fina" in fields and meadows to make them as "animal-free" as possible.

Why? It's easy to explain. If meadows or fields are mowed or threshed and the land has not been "searched" beforehand, it unfortunately often happens that fawns are killed.

If a combine harvester comes along, neither fawns nor baby hares or small pheasants or partridges stand a chance. That's why hunters try to search the fields and meadows beforehand.(Bild: Charlotte Titz)

"The goat lays the initially odorless fawns in a field or meadow and only visits them to suckle so as not to attract the attention of predators," the hunters know. If danger comes, the little ones duck down and are therefore virtually invisible. Good if a predator is really coming, bad if a combine harvester or tractor is driving past. It is estimated that 25,000 bambis are killed in Austria every year as a result. Not to mention small hares or young partridges and pheasants. Paul Moser and Thomas Waldsich have been responsible for the hunting ground since April of this year. "Unfortunately, things keep happening because the farmers don't report mowing," says Paul Moser. In the meantime, however, word has gotten around: There are two people in the West district who try to prevent mowing deaths. If the farmer calls them, they make sure that the land is searched with the dogs shortly before mowing.

Roaming meadows and fields with dogs
 "We've already found quite a few fawns and taken them to a nearby field," they say. To do this, they either wear gloves or use tufts of grass so that no human scent sticks to the little ones. Because the goat doesn't like that at all. The meadow that was searched on Wednesday was "fawn-free". What was found, however, were the animals' old resting places.

Thomas Waldsich and his dog "Fina" try to save young animals from being mowed to death.(Bild: Charlotte Titz)

Paul Moser with his dog "Amsel". He is grateful that more and more farmers are coming forward before their fields or meadows are mowed.(Bild: Charlotte Titz)

In addition, a number of pheasant chicks and hens have taken flight. "If we don't find any young, it's usually enough that there's a human scent in the field for the goat to stop laying the young there," the hunters explain. In future, a drone from the air will also support them in their search for young animals.