"Lawnmower" sheep on the Danube Island

• From April to October a flock of sheep was put out to graze on various areas of grassland on the northern part of the Danube Island, acting as environment-friendly "lawnmowers".
• In 2023 the sheep grazed 10.7 hectares of meadow, an area equivalent to about 15 football pitches.
• The sheep were taken to their winter quarters in Lassee/Lower Austria in mid-November, and will be returning to the Danube Island in spring 2023.
• The first 50 sheep were placed on the Danube Island in 2019. They now return every year in spring to graze on the Danube Island.
• The sheep grazing initiative is part of the EU LIFE DICCA project.

From April to October 2023, once again a flock of sheep again was placed at the northernmost tip of the Danube Island from May to mid-November to act as sustainable, environment-friendly "lawnmowers". This area has been left in its natural state and is not very intensively used.

The sheep belong to the farming enterprise Kablhof which "rents" them to the City of Vienna.

The sheep are protected by a mobile, waist-high electric grazing fence that can be moved as and where necessary. The animals take about a week to fully graze a particular piece of meadow, and are then moved on to another spot.

In 2023 the sheep grazed 10.7 hectares of grassland, an area equivalent to about 15 football pitches.

Video: sheep on the Danube Island - Facebook

Benefits of sheep grazing

• Sheep grazing enhances biodiversity and helps link up habitats
  • Sheep always leave some plants untouched when grazing, producing meadows with a mix of taller and shorter plants.
  • Sheep grazing protects small animals that would otherwise be swallowed up by heavy mowing machines
• Sheep produce no harmful emissions and are quieter than motor-powered lawnmowers.

Monitoring

A monitoring process was launched in 2019 and will be continued every year. The results show a strong increase in the number of insect species such as butterflies, mantises and grasshoppers compared to mechanically mowed grassland. The monitoring of the sheep grazing project on the Danube Island was commissioned by the City of Vienna and will continue over the coming years.

Rare breed

The sheep are Carniolan rock sheep - an ancient rare breed. Carniolan rock sheep are robust, undemanding and tolerant of stress. They are good feed converters that are well suited to dry conditions as well as resilient to hot weather.