Germans banned from killing ants

[Peg Leg Bates]

Germans banned from killing ants
Story filed: 11:46 Tuesday 29th April 2003
Ananova

http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_775325.html

Germany has introduced new laws making it illegal to kill ants and appointed 85 ant protection officers to protect the insects.

Homeowners and gardeners who attempt to destroy an anthill or underground nest will face hefty fines if caught. They must now apply for a permit from their local forestry office to have the ants carefully moved to local woods.

"People with an ant hill in their garden must under no circumstances resort to the use of poison," said senior ant protection officer Dieter Kraemer. "This is a violation of federal nature protection laws and punishable with hefty fines."  He added that ants were highly valued by German foresters for eating insects which attack trees.

A high ant population can prevent costly and environmentally unfriendly woodland spraying aimed at pests such as the Nun moth which attacks pines and other conifers.
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://lists.envirolink.org/mailman/private/ar-news/attachments/20030506/21318929/attachment.html