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Drones and thermal cameras save more fawns

Fawn in a field
The rescuers flew over 16,318 hectares in search of fawns that had been left by their mothers in supposedly safe cornfields and hay meadows Keystone / Swen Pförtner

The Swiss Fawn Rescue organisation has saved 2,569 baby deer from being killed by mowers this year, almost twice as many as last year.

This was made possible by drones and thermal-imaging cameras, which helped not only to track down baby deer, but also to find motivated helpers.

Some 200 rescue teams comprising 319 volunteers were deployed, an increase of 160% on last year. The rescuers flew over 16,318 hectares in search of fawns that had been left by their mothers in supposedly safe cornfields and hay meadows.

The weather put the teams under pressure, because when it finally improved after weeks of rain all the farmers mowed at once, Swiss Fawn RescueExternal link said on Friday. Nevertheless, the controlled area was twice as large as that of 2020.

The organisation wants to cover even more area in Switzerland and is therefore holding virtual information events from August 9-19 to mobilise more helpers. The second recruitment phase consists of live demonstrations on site. Swiss Fawn Rescue hoped the prospect of becoming a drone pilot or captaining an unmanned flying machine would boost people’s willingness to volunteer.

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