Around 200 Fawns Rescued Using Thermal Camera Drones in New Pilot Project

On Wednesday 21 June 2023, the Luxembourg Ministry of Agriculture, Viticulture and Rural Development has announced the launch of the pilot project “Save Bambi Luxembourg,” aiming to rescue fawns from agricultural machinery via the use of drones.

At the height of the mowing season, Luxembourg’s Minister of Agriculture, Claude Haagen, attended a fawn rescue operation carried out by a drone pilot from the ASBL "Sauvons Bambi Luxembourg" and a farmer in Kahler as part of the pilot project supported by the Ministry of Agriculture, Viticulture and Rural Development.

The month of June marks the high season for mowing work for the agricultural sector, and at the same time the season for the birth of fawns. A recurring problem for farmers arises when young fawns hide in the grasslands and become instinctively frozen at the approach of agricultural machinery.

To help farmers protect the fawns before the mowers pass, the members of the ASBL “Sauvons Bambi Luxembourg” and the leaders of the six partner municipalities initiated the pilot phase of the rescue project in the spring.

This pilot project aims to prevent the death and mutilation of fawns, and to help farmers mow with more serenity. At the same time, it also helps to preserve the quality of the fodder and to prevent the risk of livestock disease.

The association behind the initiative now has seven drone pilots that fly over agricultural plots at the request of farmers, before mowing begins. Precise flight plans are developed using the geographical coordinates of agricultural plots that farmers communicate to pilots. Fawns hidden in the meadows are located using infrared cameras, and are then relocated. After the passage of the agricultural mowers, they are then safely released in their territory of origin and reunited with their mother. The operation is reportedly fast and meticulous, requires expertise, knowledge of the field and dexterity.

At this point, nearly 200 fawns have already been rescued across the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. The aid program was widely requested by a number of farmers who communicated their plots to the association “Sauvons Bambi Luxembourg”.

The pilot project is co-financed by the Ministry of Agriculture, Viticulture and Rural Development in agreement with the partner municipalities Garnich, Steinfort, Habscht, Koerich, Saeul and Beckerich. Claude Haagen expressed his delight with the “remarkable commitment” of the volunteer drone pilots during this extremely intensive period of work, and the “excellent team spirit” between pilots, farmers, hunters and municipal officials in the service of the protection of wild animals.