First Bison Seen In Germany In 250 Years Immediately Shot
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It sometimes appears that we are surrounded by idiots, rather like the one in Germany that ordered professional hunters to shoot and kill the very first bison seen in the country in two centuries. It’s no wonder conservationists are expressing outrage at the irresponsible act a local official who sent a pair of hunters to kill the creature because he thought it presented a threat to public safety.
Calling the killing a criminal offense, the World Wildlife Fund says it will file charges against the official who gave the order, the Local reports. “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,” says Chris Heinrich, a WWF board member. The bison was seen by the river Oder near the eastern town of Lebus on Wednesday. It was unclear if either the official or the hunters knew the European bison is classed as a “vulnerable” species and on Germany’s list of “strongly protected animals.”
The hapless victim was likely a bull that had wandered across the border from Poland from its home in a national park. While they may be the continent’s largest land mammals, weighing up to 2,200 pounds, the bison are not considered dangerous. If they were, says the local environmental minister, then “half of Poland, where the animal is a national symbol, would have to be declared a danger zone.”
Hunted to near extinction in Europe in the early 20th Century, the bison are making a comeback thanks to conservationists, with more than 1,200 now roaming around Poland, per the Telegraph, which published a video showing bison fleeing, then standing up to a pack of wolves.
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I have no words, all of them have run away in terror.
Not strictly true. There is a large bison reserve just down the road from here. There are also free-range bison in the Westerwald area. So that couldn’t have been the “First Bison Seen In Germany In 250 Years”.
It depresses me too Tim. When I saw the headline my heart just sunk. I hate people sometimes.
Oh no. Why? This depresses hell out of me.