In the struggle for a new otter regulation, representatives of environmental associations and the Free State have signaled their willingness to sit down and find a solution. In November, the Bavarian Administrative Court temporarily suspended two regulations on the killing of strictly protected animals in exceptional cases. Those involved met in court on Monday, but the content was not discussed. The court wants to deliver a decision on the temporarily suspended regulations in writing.
A new regulation is in the works, said a senior attorney from the state attorney’s office for the Free State. In August 2023, two new regulations came into force, according to which otters may be killed under special conditions to protect the pond industry, regionally limited to Lower Bavaria and the Upper Palatinate with the exception of the Neumarkt district. The State Office for Agriculture set an annual maximum number of animals to be killed, most recently a quota of 32 animals. In November, the Administrative Court deemed both regulations to be unlawful in terms of content. On the one hand, the Federal Nature Conservation Union should have been included in the regulations. In addition, the determination of the maximum number of killings is so important for species protection that it must be regulated by the legislator himself.