Visual-acoustic wildlife deterrents as a supporting measure to prevent mowing-related mortality in roe deer fawns

Mowing-related mortality is one of the main causes of death among roe deer fawns in agricultural regions, prompting farmers in Germany to implement preventative measures. Understanding the effectiveness of different deterrent methods is crucial to reducing such mortality.
This study examined the effectiveness of visual-acoustic wildlife deterrent devices in preventing roe deer fawns from entering agriculturally used areas before mowing, encouraging those already present to leave, or facilitating their removal by their mothers. A total of 76 fawns were fitted with GPS-collars between 2022 and 2023, and their movements were analysed using a multi-state Markov model. 
Our results demonstrate that visual-acoustic wildlife deterrents significantly influenced fawn behaviour, with 36% of the fawns leaving the trial area and not returning at all during the trial period. However, this indicates a substantial risk of injury or death for the fawns remaining in the fields during mowing. Among ..., , # Visual-acoustic wildlife deterrents as a supporting measure to prevent mowing-related mortality in roe deer fawns

Dataset DOI: [10.5061/dryad.g4f4qrg2f](10.5061/dryad.g4f4qrg2f)

## Description of the data and file structure

**Description of the data**

The data file included in the submission consists of Stehr_2025_fawn_data_deterrent.csv. This study examined the effectiveness of visual-acoustic wildlife deterrent devices in preventing roe deer fawns from entering agriculturally used areas before mowing, encouraging those already present to leave, or facilitating their removal by their mothers. A total of 76 fawns were fitted with GPS-collars between 2022 and 2023, and their movements were analysed using a multi-state Markov model. By achieving greater knowledge about the effectiveness of different deterrent devices, our findings have critical implications for mitigating mowing-related mortality — a topic of increasing public and scientific concern. The integration of these results...,