The administration of the German city of Erfurt is ready to allocate €2.5 million to relocate 39 wild hamsters. The reason for such generous spending is plans to expand one of the city schools. This is reported by pravilamag.ru with reference to Thüringer Allgemeine and Bild.
The city authorities Intend to build an additional building for the educational institution. Of the 19 sites examined, only one turned out to be suitable for construction. However, it turned out that this territory was already occupied its inhabitants were wild hamsters, which are protected by law in Germany.
The city planning department Is currently developing a project to rehome the animals. This document must be approved by the city council, and a vote on it is scheduled for this year.
If the plan is approved, the authorities will have to quickly find a new habitat for the hamsters. There is little time for this: it is expected that construction of the new school building will begin at the end of 2026.