Christoph Bächtle, Chairman of the Ludwigsburg Animal Welfare Association, pointed out the lack of funding for the emergency care of wild animals. In 2021, 800 wild animals were brought to the animal shelter. "More than ever before," explained Bächtle, referring to the lower numbers of previous years. Great spotted woodpeckers, weasels, dormice, little owls, bats, red kites and other wild animals are regular guests at the animal shelter. The animals arrive malnourished, hypothermic, with broken wings, as orphaned babies, tangled up in nylon cords, with inflammations, open wounds and much more, and are returned to their natural habitat after a period of care or - also at their own expense - placed with competent foster homes.
"The number of wild animals that the animal shelter has to care for in the current year exceeds our capacity," Bächtle informed the district administrator, who had the head of the Health and Consumer Protection Department, Dr. Karlin Stark, and the head of the Veterinary and Food Monitoring Department, Dr. Ulrich Koepsel, at his side. The panel agreed that there was a lack of action on the part of state politicians when it came to taking in and caring for wild animals. There are also no clear guidelines for cat protection. Animal shelters incur high costs for neutering stray cats, which, like the entire work, are not covered by public funds. "If animal welfare is a state objective, the state must not shirk its responsibility in implementing it," Bächtle stated. The District Administrator promised to bring the issue to the attention of the responsible Baden-Württemberg Ministry.
In this respect, those responsible were very pleased with the donation of 2,000 euros, which was made possible by the Kreissparkasse and which District Administrator Allgaier was happy to hand over in his role as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Kreissparkasse Ludwigsburg. "We hope that this will enable us to make a contribution to your good and important work."
