During a patrol, officers from the Nordsaarland Police Department noticed that the water had mostly been drained from a fish pond near the Wadern district of Nunkirchen. Numerous dead pond mussels, which are considered highly endangered and protected by nature conservation laws, were found lying on the now dry area. Furthermore, it was discovered that Eternit waste, which appears to contain asbestos, had been stored on the premises. In addition, logs were pulled from the nearby Losheimer Bach stream and cut up, despite clear signs of beavers (a strictly protected species) being present there.
Still living pond mussels were immediately moved by the intervening police officers from the edge of the pond into deeper water.
The police informed the State Office for Environmental and Occupational Safety as well as the beaver officer, after which the experts immediately appeared personally on site. Serious interventions in the environment and habitat of the strictly protected beaver were observed, and it was also ordered that the tenant of the pond system had installed dam boards so that the water level could be raised accordingly again.
The owner and the leaseholder of the pond facility are now facing investigative proceedings on suspicion of unauthorized handling of waste as well as violations of the Federal Nature Conservation Act.
