Large animal rescue in Alsfeld: Fire brigade trains for emergencies!

Large animal rescue in Alsfeld: Fire brigade trains for emergencies!

On July 9, 2025, an important training course on technical large animal rescue took place in Alsfeld, in which not only the fire departments from Alsfeld and Lohra, but also two farmers and a veterinarian took part. The event was organized by the Focus Animal Welfare Network in Hesse and served as targeted training to improve the safe and animal-friendly rescue of horses, cattle, donkeys and other large animals. Loud Vogelsberger newspaper The number of missions involving large animals is constantly increasing. These often involve emergencies, such as animals in ditches or traffic accidents involving horse trailers.

With a total of 20 participants, both theoretical and practical knowledge was imparted. The focus was on analyzing operational situations and the behavior of animals under stress. These skills are essential for carrying out successful rescue operations. Particularly noteworthy was the use of a life-size rescue dummy named “Sam”, which weighed 200 kg and was equipped with special rescue tools to realistically simulate operational conditions.

Safe rescue through competence

Daniel Schäfer, Alsfeld city fire inspector, emphasized the great importance of training, especially in cooperation with veterinarians. Veterinarian Anna Kohlstädt emphasized how important it is to carry out the exercises with animal welfare aspects in mind. Such training is essential for the Alsfeld Volunteer Fire Department, which consists of voluntary emergency services who regularly take part in further training and further education. The fire department is currently looking for active members for emergency service.

A look beyond the borders of Hesse shows that technical large animal rescue is now part of the training of rescue workers and veterinarians in many countries. This topic was practically unknown in Germany just a few years ago. It has only been actively addressed since 2015, although it is loud comcavalo.de On the initiative of experts like Lutz, fire departments and rescue organizations have begun to draw attention to large animal operations.

Training centers on the rise

In order to further professionalize training, a modern training center for technical large animal rescue was opened in 2024. The aim is to train aid organizations in the gentle and efficient rescue of large animals. With over 18 years of experience and more than 2,000 successful rescues, the center meets the needs of fire departments, THW, rescue services, veterinarians and farmers. The comprehensive training program ensures that both theoretical basics and practical applications are anchored in the participants. The courses include, among other things, safety and self-protection for emergency services as well as the simulation of rescue operations under realistic conditions, such as tierrettung-suedbaden.de describes.

These trainings lay an important foundation for the safety of people and animals. The trend towards further training in the area of ​​large animal rescue shows that awareness of these topics is slowly but steadily increasing.