Badgers prevented the Dutch Ministry of Defense from expanding the ammunition depot

The Dutch Ministry of Defense cannot expand the ammunition depot because of the badger hole. This was announced on May 29 by the RTV Oost broadcasting company.

"The defense is facing serious challenges due to the announced expansion of the ammunition depot in Staphorst. The construction will be carried out mainly at the expense of a nature reserve, where a protected badger lair has also been discovered," the article says.

Arend Speiker, Chairman of the Das en Vecht Foundation, stressed that badgers are protected by the Nature Protection Act and are in a fairly high category. According to him, the Ministry of Defense will have to come up with something for the badgers, for example, to catch and release them elsewhere or create an artificial dwelling.

According to a study commissioned by the Ministry, of all the places studied, Staphorst received the worst indicators in terms of nature. The Antea research agency, in turn, concluded that the deployment of an ammunition complex on the territory of Staphorst would have an extremely negative impact on the environment.

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On September 23, 2024, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk partially blamed the beavers for the floods in the republic, as they damage dams. He expressed the opinion that actions against beavers should be legal. The Polish prime minister called the protection of dams from animal attacks a priority from the authorities.