Amberg/Regensburg (dpa/lby) - Walkers and hunters discovered seven deer carcasses without a head in the Upper Palatinate this year alone. The police currently suspect poaching behind the cases. However, the motivation for the potential crimes has not yet been clearly established, as the police announced on Monday.
According to the information, most of the animals killed were males. It is therefore reasonable to suspect that the antlers were used as trophies, as a police spokesman said. Why then, however, female animals were also killed is unclear. "Everything is still open," the spokesman summarized the investigation.
Because while gunshot wounds were found on some carcasses, there is no clear evidence of poaching on other animal bodies. The investigations should therefore clarify whether other causes such as animal feeding may be the basis of individual cases.
A total of ten cases of severed deer heads have been registered in the Upper Palatinate since 2019. The headless remains of the deer bodies were found in Seubersdorf in der Oberpfalz, Kemnath, Lupburg, Holzheim am Forst, Sinzing, Kümmersbruck, Ensdorf, Regensburg and Ursensollen. The police are also aware of another case from this year in the Kelheim area in Lower Bavaria.
The Criminal Police Inspectorate in Amberg has taken over the central investigations for the Upper Palatinate. As part of an appeal for witnesses, the police are asking those who are authorized to hunt in particular for information on possible causes.
