For the time being, no deer may be shot in Drenthe. The judge in Groningen has decided that. The province has granted an exemption until December 31, 2029 to have deer shut off for road safety. But that exemption is off the table: the judge equalized Fauna4Life and Animal Rights.
In Drenthe there are approximately six hundred collisions per year with roe deer. And this increases, which means ‘public safety’ is at stake, the province believes. An exemption is then necessary, the statement is to apply targeted management and to reduce the number of collisions.
When issuing this permit, the province pointed to the Ree Drenthe Fauna Management Plan in order to deviate from the protected status of the deer and allow them.
In this case, the animal organizations do not see what that public insecurity should entail. These animals usually disappear during a collision under the car. It is damaged, but nobody is injured. At most it is the animals that are the victims.
There are also other measures to be found, which means that shooting is not necessary, the organizations think. Such as maintaining traffic speed and improving sight along the roads. They stated that the shooting of animals has not yet caused fewer collisions.
According to the court, the province does not know how to substantiate sufficiently that a risk for road safety arises if the target standard of six hundred collisions is exceeded. In addition, the province does not indicate what kind of collisions it concerns so far, what the damage was and whether there was a risk for road safety. The judge has not been able to establish that shooting roe deer has a positive effect on the number of collisions.
The judge agrees with the animal organizations that alternative measures were insufficiently considered. That should have been, the judge thinks. The province of Drenthe is given six weeks to achieve a new decision.