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Johann Osel and Klaus Ott
The sand lizard was recently the “Reptile of the Year”, it is strictly protected, but according to the German Nature Conservation Union (NABU), cleared landscapes are increasingly causing problems for it. Sand lizards are often the victims of large construction projects in particular, writes NABU, and expensive resettlement campaigns are rarely promising. Walter Nussel, CSU member of the state parliament from the Erlangen-Höchstadt constituency in Central Franconia, apparently sees things differently. In an email dated February 8, 2021 to the real estate company of the Free State of Bavaria (IMBY), the politician and entrepreneur boasted that he had “already resettled sand lizards”. He has access to ecological compensation areas and would like to exchange ideas with IMBY.