Sika deer keepers protest EU order to kill animals

Sika deer keepers in Bavaria are protesting an EU classification that requires the animals to be killed by summer 2027. BR reported that the measure applies to both free-ranging deer and animals kept in enclosures.

Sika deer, originally from East Asia, are classified as an invasive species under an EU regulation adopted last summer. The EU says keeping, breeding, transporting and importing the animals is now prohibited, subject to a transition period lasting until summer 2027.

Vanessa Süss and Nino Buchner keep sika deer near Lake Chiemsee. Their animals gave birth to calves in early summer, which now move with the herd after initially being hidden by their mothers.

The EU decision is based on a scientific risk assessment. Among the concerns is that captive animals could escape and mate with native deer. The EU says hybrids already exist.

Many wildlife keepers switched to sika deer in recent years because the animals are considered calmer and are expected to produce high-quality meat. The ban on breeding could force keepers to kill male deer in the autumn mating season if they cannot separate them from the rest of the herd.

Keepers say the EU classification was made without considering conditions at individual enclosures. They argue that their fences are escape-proof and that sika and red deer have different mating seasons. Affected keepers, including many farmers who raise sika deer as a secondary activity, have formed a group called Sika Save to lobby politicians.

The Bavarian Environment Ministry said the state government supported the keepers and would seek an exemption through the Federal Environment Ministry. The European Commission would decide on the request and, if it approved the exemption, set conditions for keeping the animals, including requirements for preventing escapes.

Bund Naturschutz Bayern said it viewed enclosure keeping as less problematic than free-ranging sika deer, provided secure fencing was guaranteed and escaped animals were shot at the keepers’ expense. It called for more intensive hunting of free-ranging sika deer.

The Bavarian Hunting Association is calling for the EU classification to be withdrawn. It said no ecological or biological problems or disadvantages were known in connection with the species. In Bavaria, the small deer are found almost exclusively in Upper Palatinate, where they migrated from the Czech Republic.