Animals - Help for endangered field hamsters - agricultural businesses honored
Thuringia belongs to the last retreat areas of the Fieldhamster in Germany. Experts estimate the population in the Free State at around 5,000 animals, mainly in the Thuringian Basin up to Mühlhausen. Some agricultural and horticultural businesses are also involved in their protection - three of them have now been honored.
These include the Birnbaum Agricultural Business, the Geratal Agrar GmbH & Co. KG Andisleben, and the Rose Seedling Breeding Erfurt, as announced by the Nature Protection League (NABU) and other organizations. The designation as "Natura 2000-Farmer" has been taking place annually since 2018, jointly by agricultural and nature conservation associations - this year it focused on an endangered species for the first time.
With this recognition, we want to send the signal that nature protection and agriculture can go hand in hand," explained Sebastian König, State Manager of BUND. The conservation of the population would not be possible without the engagement of the awarded businesses.
The Fieldhamster is threatened with extinction "and its population continues to decline unchecked," said Dirk Hofmann, Deputy Chairman of NABU Thuringia. Intensive agriculture, sealing of surfaces, and the fragmentation of the landscape are the main reasons for the decline. The Fieldhamster still has an image problem as a grain-eating animal and is not accepted everywhere. The three awarded businesses showed that objections are unfounded.
"To get more businesses on board, we need attractive funding conditions. Payments should not only compensate for the yield loss due to normal farming. The businesses must be able to earn money permanently with nature conservation," said Jürgen Metzner, Managing Director of the German Association for Landscape Management.
Only in Thuringia, according to the assessment of nature conservationists, does a special responsibility lie, because only there does a dark, almost black variety of the Fieldhamster occur. The disappearance of fallow lands and margins, which are important retreat areas and food sources, is particularly problematic for the species conservation. The protection of the Fieldhamster is served by smaller fields, leaving stubble fields, or the promotion of wildfield plants.
In many regions of Germany, the Fieldhamster is on the Red List of endangered species. In some federal states, it is already considered extinct.
- The Nature Protection League (NABU) and other organizations have recognized the Birnbaum Agricultural Business, Geratal Agrar GmbH & Co. KG Andisleben, and the Rose Seedling Breeding Erfurt for their efforts in protecting the European hamster in Thuringia, a retreat area for the Fieldhamster in Germany.
- The European hamster, also known as the Fieldhamster, is primarily found in the Thuringian Basin up to Mühlhausen in Thuringia, with an estimated population of around 5,000 animals.
- The Nature Conservation League (NABU) and other organizations have been honoring agricultural businesses for their contributions to nature protection annually since 2018, with a focus on endangered species this year.
- NABU Thuringia's Deputy Chairman, Dirk Hofmann, highlighted that the Fieldhamster is threatened with extinction and its population is continuing to decline due to factors such as intensive agriculture, sealing of surfaces, and fragmentation of the landscape.
- In Thuringia, where a dark, almost black variety of the Fieldhamster occurs, nature conservationists believe that a special responsibility lies in preserving the species, particularly due to the disappearance of fallow lands and margins, which are crucial retreat areas and food sources for the Fieldhamster.
